Lalit Suri passes away in London

Suri was a member of the FICCI delegation which was in London to attend the Indo-UK business summit, the concluding session of which will be attended by PM Manmohan Singh and Tony Blair. Suri, who boasted he was the largest Indian hotel owner because of his majority holdings in his properties, had over the years acquired the image of being a multi-faceted personality.

He entered politics since he had a good equation with the Gandhi family through Sanjay Gandhi. He was nominated to the Rajya Sabha first in 1992 and later in 2002.

The Brothers Suris (the once famous duo of Sagar and brother Lalit, they are now estranged) leapt into the spotlight in the ’70s under the patronage of Indira Gandhi and son Sanjay. Their penthouse in Sagar Apartments had the same potent pull as the luxe suites at Lalit’s Inter-Continental does today — it is the vortex of business and political intrigue and deals, friendships have been brokered and sealed, political allegiances made or snapped.

After Sanjay and later Rajiv Gandhi’s death, Lalit Suri was one of the first friends of the Gandhis to move on.

Within the decade, and later, he had built a formidable hotel empire — his publicists never failed to remind one and all he was the single largest hotel owner in the country, with 1600 rooms and majority shareholdings in the company. Bharat Hotels went on to bid and acquire some of the choicest ITDC properties during the disinvestment years of 1999-2004, from Bangalore to Khajuraho, apart from embarking on a Rs 600 crore expansion plan in towns like Amritsar, Hyderabad, Chennai, among others sunshine cities.

Lailt Suri’s political ambitions were equally soaring — he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha as Independent, backed by friend Amar Singh’s party, the SP, and even the BJP, if it was necessary, say insiders. But the ace player he was, Suri ensured he did not antagonise nor sever ties with the Gandhis. He chose to earmark a good part of his allocation for Rahul Gandhi’s parliamentary constituency. As MP from UP, Suri last year presented 19 new mobile health dispensaries-cum-ambulances to the people of Amethi.

His generosity and opulence is legion — apart from gaining a reputation for running his hotels as his extended home, entertaining his guests — Suri also acquired the trappings of a Luxe Mogul. His private jet was his showpiece, his Lamborghini was strategically parked in the foyer of the Inter Con, he flashed his apartment in Mayfair, London. He entertained lavishly and loved the good life. His Diwali card parties were not for the faint-hearted, his exclusive table was only for the Big Boys. It is indeed a testimony to his reputation that the last place he visited after the reception in London was at an exclusive casino in his neighbourhood.