Pramod Mahajan
Pramod Mahajan
By Our Correspondent
He was the BJP’s man for all seasons; and for all reasons too. BJP poster boy Pramod Mahajan was not just a master poll strategist he was also the party’s main fund raiser and organiser. With Election 2009 on the horizon the BJP is sorely missing the architect of many a victory. Within the party, he rose to prominence largely due to his organisational skills and it may well be a struggle to replace him.
Says a BJP insider, “True, Pramodji played a major role in raising funds for the party. Another party leader remembered how during the 2005 golden jubilee celebrations of the party, Pramod had managed to raise Rs 50 lakhs. All in the matter of 30 minutes! And with a few phone calls only. With his untimely death in May 2006, the BJP lost its Battle Axe.
His politics, his ability to network people and his fund raising skills were an anathema to the RSS. But even the RSS acknowledged Pramod Mahajan’s worth publicly when its chief KS Sudarshan said at his funeral that his death was a loss to the Sangh Parivar.
In a party of Ram bhakts, former Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee once described Pramod Mahajan as BJP’s Lakshman. Media savvy and honest in his off-the-record briefings, Mahajan once said, “Let me tell you frankly, I was never a fund raiser. I was not the treasurer of the BJP at any point of time. Like all political leaders I also collect a little money for the party. I come from the commercial capital of India.
So I know many industrialists. That is not a crime.” Surely not Mr Mahajan!
But the new poster boy Arun Jaitley denies that it’s just a few individuals that are responsible for mobilising cash. “We are not fund raisers as such. We follow a very transparent system to raise funds for the BJP. And our fund-raising is purely need-based.”
However, insiders believe that the BJP’s need for funds is growing rather rapidly.
“We have realised that our workers’ expectations have really increased over the years. No one wants to work just for ideological reasons. That’s where an adequate fund flow plays an important role,” another insider says. The saffron party has surely got them money Blues! The BJP high command is banking heavily on cash-rich Gujarat and chief minister Narendra Modi’s personal charisma in generating funds for the party.
Meanwhile, a large and well-known industrial house has set up a War Room in Delhi to distribute funds to “winning” candidates across party lines. The war is being “manned” by an in-house manager and a high-profile lady from a PR agency. Maybe the BJP can hope to get some dole for a bailout.