Veteran Congress leader and former minister Sat Mahajan, known as Field Marshal in party circles,died on Saturday following a brief illness. Mahajan,85,is survived by a son and a daughter. He was ailing for some time and had undergone angioplasty at a hospital here on August 22. He was discharged from the hospital four days ago and was staying with his daughter. His body reached Pathankot at his residence in the evening,The cremation will done in Nurpur on Sunday. Born on July 27,1927 at Nurpur,Mahajan emerged as an important leader of Kangra after its merger with Himachal in 1966. He was elected to Himachal Assembly five times in 1977,1982,1982,1993 and 2003 and served as Cabinet minister in the governments headed by former Chief Minister Ram Lal Thakur and Virbhadra Singh. He was elected to Lok Sabha in 1996 but lost the mid-term Lok Sabha polls in 1998. He was also defeated in the assembly polls in 1990 and did not contest the 2007 Assembly polls to launch his son Ajay Mahajan in electoral politics. Mahajan was president of Kangra District Congress Committee and served as HPCC president from 1974 to 1978. A social activist and an upright politician with rare humane qualities,Mahajan started his career as student leader. His political career took shape after he was elected president of Nurpur Municipal Committee - a post he held for five consecutive terms. Even though he retired from active politics in 2007,he was a member of the newly formed campaign committee of Congress for upcoming polls. He was not only a politician but an institution of sorts. His death marks the end of an era, former PCC president Viplove Thakur and AICC secretary Asha Kumari said in a statement. In letter to his son,Congress president Sonia Gandhi termed Mahajans demise as the biggest loss to the party in Himachal. She described him as a leader totally committed to the Congress ideology who discharged every responsibility with full dedication. HPCC president Virbhadra Singh and CLP leader Vidya Stokes recalled his contributions to the party and the state. The void created by his death can never never be filled, they said. Senior BJP leader Shanta Kumar said Mahajan was a politician who upheld high moral values and earned respect from every section of the society. He was an affectionate friend and a lovable human being, Kumar said. Chief Minister Prem Kumar Dhumal too said that services rendered by the seasoned politician will always be remembered.
