Brothers-at-arms

The political ramifications of Pramod Mahajan’s shooting will take time to reveal

HN Correspondent Delhi

It was a stunned nation that heard the news that Bharatiya Janata Party’s rising star and the man who anointed to lead the party in to the future, Pramod Mahajan, was shot by his own brother. Was it plain sibling rivalry or more that led his brother, Pravin Mahajan, to indulge in this heinous act?

There are no ready answers, but there is a lot of media and political speculation. Pravin Mahajan was an unknown entity living in the shadow of his brother. He procured small contracts with the help of his resourceful brother, but failed to establish himself as a prosperous businessman. He blamed Pramod for not doing enough and told the police - after surrendering—that he surely expected more support from someone who had a wealth to the tune of Rs 2,000 crores. Did Pravin shoot him for the humiliation that was heaped on him or was there was more? TV channels have hinted at his proximity to his brother’s wife, but there is no evidence to suggest that.

India’s medieval history is replete with instances of brothers waging wars against each other, but nothing like what had happened in the Mahajan family had been witnessed in the criminal history of post-Independent India. Even Bollywood, seemingly, could not put such a bizarre script together. In stature, drama and public excitement it seemed bigger than the Nanawati case that rocked Mumbai in the 1960s.

The kind of coverage that Mahajan got after he was admitted to the hospital would have befitted the President of the country. There were doctors converging from all over the world to provide medical help to his bullet-scarred body. No one had any clue whether all this would help him recover, but surely it triggered mass curiosity about the motive behind the attack and about his health.

His confinement in hospital showed that Mahajan was no ordinary politician. He was the person chosen to lead the BJP into the future. Even though the Sangh Parivar had reservations about Pramod Mahajan because of his flamboyant lifestyle, he was looked upon as person who would rebuild the party from the ashes of the May 2004 Lok Sabha elections. The leadership could not come to terms with its unexpected defeat when every thing appeared to be so sanguine for the party.

Atal Behari Vajpayee felt Mahajan had what it takes to be a leader and declared him as Advani’s Laxman.

Though the RSS despised him, they realised that there were very few with Mahajan’s skills in the party. Not only did he have the ability to raise enormous funds from friendly business houses to mount a major election campaign, he also had tremendous organisational skills. He used communication technology in the last general elections to make a difference to the campaign. In some states his strategies succeeded, but in others he failed to make an impression. Mahajan was clearly a man who had a vision of Indian politics. He knew the power of big money and used it to turn BJP into a powerfully funded election machine.

There are allegations that he collected considerable fortunes for himself and parked funds in number of sunrise sectors.

His meteoric rise in the BJP and the influence he had over Vajpayee and Advani caused envy and resentment all around. Uma Bharati and Madan Lal Khurana, who left the party, blamed the likes of Mahajan and his friends for their discomfiture. Khurana, who was threatening to release a CD about sex scandals in BJP, had amply hinted to friendly reporters about whom he was pointing at. He claimed that many of BJP leaders used a suite in a prominent Delhi hotel to fix deals and indulge in orgies. The attack on Mahajan has forced Khurana to hold his tongue, but it is a matter of time before the skeletons are out.