MP Gov. Lalji Tandon passes away
Madhya Pradesh governor Lalji Tandon, once known as blue eyed boy of late prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee, passed away in a private hospital in Lucknow on Tuesday morning after battling acute illness comprising multiple organ failures for a month.
He was 85 and is survived by his son Asutosh Tandon who is a minister in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet.
He was admitted to the hospital after he complained of respiratory problems on July 11 and later suffered internal hemorrhage.
His son shared the news of his demise on Twitter early in the morning, posting a one-line message,
“Babuji nahin rahe”.
The octogenarian leader’s brief tenure as Governor of Madhya Pradesh, the last assignment of his six decades long political career, had remained eventful as he had steered the state out of political turmoil caused by rebellion by 22 Congress MLAs against their chief minister Kamal Nath in March, by ensuring smooth transition of power in the state leading Shivraj Singh Chouhan to return as Chief Minister for fourth time .
Significantly, Tandon had enjoyed confidence of the rival parties, Congress and BJP, during the political turbulence in the state.
“A typical Lucknowite, he was never in a hurry and excelled at the art of political navigation in such a manner that he hardly invited criticism from his rivals”, one of his close aides who was his constant companion during his brief stint as MP Governor told this newspaper on Tuesday.
“Although, a die hard follower of saffron ideology, late Tandon had made friends across the political spectrum”, he added.
Bahujan Samaj Party supremo Mayawati had made him ‘rakhi brother’ and used to tie ‘rakhi’ every year.
Born in Lucknow, he joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) at the age of 12 and was also one of the founder members of Jan Sangh.
He made a debut in electoral politics by becoming a corporator in early 1970s and entered the upper house of UP legislature a decade later.
He had found his ‘political godfather’ in late prime minister Atal Behari Vajpayee when the latter contested from Lucknow parliamentary constituency in 1991.
Late Tandon was his election manager and had turned into his ‘blue eyed boy’. Late Vajpayee had chosen him as his political heir in Lucknow seat by vacating the constituency for him in the 2008 elections.