Backroom boy who became BJP's public face
He won the 1996 Lok Sabha election and was made the defence minister in Atal Bihari Vajpayee's ministry. The ministry lasted 13 days; Mahajan's effect was to last much, much longer.
He was Vajpayee's political advisor in 1998 and later became communications minister. He held a number of posts, including parliamentary affairs minister, information technology minister and water resources minister.
Incidentally, Mahajan was known as a Vajpayee man, though in his early years, he was close to Advani.
Also See: Transcript of the Pramod Mahajan Chat
Photograph: Indranil Mukherjee/AFP/Getty Images