Friends and classmates from his journalism days — he took a diploma course at the Department of Communication and Journalism, Pune University, in 1971 — remember him as a good student, dynamic but ‘‘somewhat shy’’.

It’s the girls who found him shy but his close friends social worker Ajit Sardar and retired municipal corporation commissioner of Thane Abhay Patwardhan liked his dynamic and friendly personality.

‘‘We kept in regular touch till he became the BJP secretary,’’ says Patwardhan. Looking back, he admits they were an odd group of friends. Sardar, who passed away a couple of years ago, was a socialist, Mahajan believed in RSS ideology and Patwardhan more or less maintained a neutral stance on matters.

‘‘Pramod hardly ever talked about himself,’’ recalls Patwardhan but once in the middle of a discussion, said, ‘‘I will be a very big person in politics.’’

Mahajan’s initiation in politics had begun before he joined the journalism class at the Ranade Institute on FC Road. According to Patwardhan, it was M S Golwalkar guruji, the second sarsanghachalak of the RSS who sent him to pursue a course in journalism. L N Gokhale, who was the head of department at the institute when Mahajan was doing his diploma, too feels that he had political inclinations though it never came to the forefront during his stint here.

Mahajan didn’t collect his diploma after the course. The institute finally handed him the certificate in 2004. During his days at Ranade, Mahajan would study during the day and work nights at the pro-RSS Marathi daily Tarun Bharat as a sub-editor and reporter. Moreshwar Joshi, his friend and colleague from Tarun Bharat, remembers his love for spicy food, his rented room in Shaniwar Peth and his political acumen. In the early 1970s, Mahajan heard Atal Bihari Vajpayee at a public meeting. ‘‘Vajpayee’s oratory skills had impressed him. Pramod told me, ‘one day I will win the heart of this leader’, and he did it’’.

... contd.