Backroom boy who became BJP's public face
In 2004, Mahajan orchestrated what was called the most hi-tech campaign ever by an Indian political party. He was the brain behind the India Shining campaign that projected the achievements of the Vajpayee government.
And there was good reason to. A year before, he had pulled off unlikely victories in assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh.
India Shining boomeranged. And it spilled the BJP's internal squabbles out into the open. The rift between the RSS and the BJP became public knowledge. The mother organisation blamed five-star culture-of which Mahajan was the centrepiece-for the debacle.
But Mahajan's suave charm remained intact, as he flitted from television studio to television studio, owning up responsibility, never losing his shine.
Image: Pramod Mahajan with BJP chief Rajnath Singh and general secretary Venkaiah Nadiu.
Also See: Images: Visitors and prayers, all for Mahajan
Photograph: Jewella C Miranda