“Even if Pramod had not been in the BJP, he would have been an inspiration to the youth all over the country” – Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee
The Indian political process and history are incoherent and inadequate without an understanding of what Pramod Vyankatesh Mahajan aspired and built both as a politician and a pracharak. An idea in himself, the most pragmatic political concurrence of his time, the sarthi of the rath, and the man who delivered electorally for Hindutva was Pramod Mahajan. The last decade of the 20th century and the first few years of the 21st century saw the rise of an unparalleled statesman, well-equipped strategist, proficient orator and karyakarta of the Bharatiya Janata Party who never said no to anything that he was assigned to do. From a teacher of english, sub-editor of Tarun Bharat to a full-time pracharak in 1974, his entry into politics was meant to take him to the top ranks of the BJP.
Pramod Mahajan was what Plato describes in The Republic as a ‘stargazer’, the philosopher ruler who can rule by virtue and was skilled enough to make decisions that were good for everyone. In his allegory ‘Ship of State’, Plato explains leadership through a metamorphic ship where sailors without knowledge of seafaring techniques vie amongst themselves to lead the ship. In all, there is one person who knows the skill of nautical astronomy and can guide the ship better than anyone else on board. He is the one whom Plato calls the ”Philosopher ruler’. He who can read the stars and navigate can lead the ship likewise one who is skilled can rule better.
With a satellite phone in one hand at one of the National Conventions of BJP, a technocratic approach to modernising politics, and a vision much ahead of his time, Pramod Mahajan was one person who crafted the organisation and led the party to adopt a modern approach to register a significant electoral impact across the Nation. We saw means and methods both in him as he was a continuous learner who would go to any extent to adapt, assimilate and implement what he learnt from any part of the world. If we go through his speeches from the archives both inside and outside the parliament, there is a patterned reflection of his vision and imagination for India to position itself competitively at a global level.
Pramod Mahajan had been in all three tiers of what we can say is the ‘Sangathan’ system. He was a pracharak in RSS, became youth president and went up to various significant positions in the organisation, and was an electoral performer who held various cabinet portfolios. Expertise in the campaign to fundraising and managing elections for the party, he was almost everywhere on the screen and off-screen for the BJP. We can agree and disagree about his cult of politics but we can never undermine his contribution not only to the party but to the nation. He is the same man who significantly transformed the political approach of the party and played a key role in forming the first full-term government for the National Democratic Alliance.
He can be credited to bring in a dream of a ‘digital Revolution’ in India. He was tech-savvy and as a minister of communications for India, he took up the job very sincerely as what he did in this field was unprecedented. A network building for investment, the idea of IT parks, overhauling of the IT industry, calling for a global partnership, and unmatched pragmatism in understanding the interdependence of economy and politics. He was no less than Bill Clinton in both campaign management and emphasizing the rising importance of ‘political economy’ for any Nation and the world.
The ‘man of all seasons’ in Indian politics was Pramod Mahajan. The access to all sections of the party, the Sangh Parivar and his network across the party line made him unique and a political stalwart of his own time. The man who stitched not only the famous coalition of BJP- ShivSena but managed Bal Thackeray and other key political players of his time so efficiently that democratic institutionalism was not compromised at any point in time. He knew when to move the horse and when to call the cards of politics better than any one of his contemporaries. He can be called a connoisseur in obtaining consensus, be it anything he knew the art of convincing and we must not forget how he managed to generate the most popular consensus for ‘Missile man’ APJ Abdul Kalam as the President of the Union of India.
The contemporary youth in politics has so much to learn and ingurgitate from the life of Pramod Mahajan as he was one political entity in post-independence India who took a task upon himself to radically modernise the political set-up in India without abdicating the core principle of ‘Hindutva’. He ensured that opportunities be decentralised and every small karyakarta of the party felt that connection with him. The unassailable leader in himself was not infallible, he knew we will face defeats in the electoral setup but what was most amazing was his willful instinct to resurrect. His graceful acceptability of failures in the election, or any political formulation was his biggest strength and the most inscribing feature was his ability to accommodate dissent.
As we inch towards accomplishing the dream of New India under the leadership of our Prime Minister, we must acknowledge the resolve of the leaders who gave their everything to ‘Maa Bharati‘ and one such phenomenon was Pramod Mahajan. The vision we need to keep alive and the promise that we need to hold. Electoral success along with democratic solemnity and inviolability of institutions were his core ideas and though not physically but we will always learn from his life, belief and conviction.
If Machiavelli wrote his book ‘The Prince’ in the 21st century, then it would certainly have revolved around Mahajan’s style of politics.
The author is the founder and director of the House Of Political Empowerment Research And Innovation Foundation. The views expressed in this article are those of the author and do not represent the stand of this publication.
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