Suresh Kalmadi ushered in the golden era of Congress in Pune

Former Congress leader and Union Minister Suresh Kalmadi passed away in Pune on Monday at the age of 81. He was the president of the Indian Olympic Association and was embroiled in the Commonwealth Games scam in 2010. As a former Congress leader, he was the Minister of State for Railways.

Many know him as a pilot, a sports and culture enthusiast. But very few know that he was the Railways Minister when Mumbai’s iconic Victoria Terminus was renamed as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus in the year 1996. And fewer still know that he was the man who brought the golden era of Congress in Pune’s local elections.

Born in erstwhile Madras in the pre-independence period in 1944, he did his schooling in Pune, which became home for the Kalmadi family thereafter. His parents hailed from Mangalore. He could speak several languages fluently, including Konkani, Kannada, Marathi, English, Hindi and Tulu. He was known to be a good administrator who worked to build a strong organisational structure of Congress in Pune.

He represented Pune in Lok Sabha for several terms, and was known for his preference for a high-profile lifestyle. Like Rajiv Gandhi, he was also a pilot before entering politics. He was known to share a good rapport with him then. He weathered many changes in national and local politics in a political career which spanned close to five decades starting from the 1970s. At one time, he was known to be close to Sharad Pawar, and the duo strengthened the Congress in Pune.

He was named the president of the Indian Olympic Association, and was elected consecutively for the term between 1996 and 2012. His name was embroiled in the Commonwealth Games scandal in 2010. He was arrested by the CBI in 2011. He parted ways with the Congress after being imprisoned for his involvement in the CWG scam, and wasn’t seen in political life thereafter.

“He was a good organiser who controlled the Pune municipal corporation with an iron hand. He was mentored by Sharad Pawar. His term with the Congress in the Centre was controversial. After his personal corruption charges, he was shunted by the party,” senior Congress leader Prithviraj Chavan said.

“He changed the name of Victoria Terminus to Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus when he was the Railways Minister. It was done to honour the Maratha warrior king,” recalled Mohan Joshi, a Congress leader. The demand was made by the Shiv Sena. Suresh Kalmadi was the Minister of State of Railways who held an independent charge between 1995 and 1996.

A Pune man, whose family traced its roots to Mangalore in Karnataka, he was deeply invested in the local politics of Pune for decades after starting his political career.

The Pune connection did not leave him during his professional training days, too, when he studied at the premier National Defence Academy in Khadakwasla in 1960 before going to Jodhpur and Allahabad to train as an Air Force pilot. He did his schooling and college education in Pune. His family has dealerships of petroleum and car companies.

Suresh Kalmadi worked his way up from the Youth Congress days. He was mentored by Sharad Pawar and the duo joined hands to strengthen the organisational structure of Congress in Pune, bringing the national party its glorious era in Maharashtra’s cultural capital. From being a power centre of Pune to splitting their ways, their political trajectories saw an impact on the politics of Pune too.

“Till 1992, Congress had hardly ever won the municipal corporation elections of Pune, though it had ruled at the Centre and in the state. But from 1992 to 2002, under the leadership of Sharad Pawar and Suresh Kalmadi. Congress ruled the local body elections. Between 1992 to 1997, the duo led to a thumping majority for the Congress in Pune municipal corporation,” said senior journalist Sunil Mali from Pune.

But after Sharad Pawar split from Congress in 1999 and launched his own party, Congress power in Pune diminished. Though it led in the 2002 election, NCP won over 20 seats. “In the 2007 elections, though Congress was the biggest party, Sharad Pawar joined hands with the BJP and the Shiv Sena to keep Kalmadi and Congress out of power. This two-year honeymoon ended in 2009 when Ajit Pawar went to Kalmadi again for truce.”

Paying his last respects to Suresh Kalmadi, Sharad Pawar posted on his social media account, “As a Union Minister and President of the Indian Olympic Association (IOA), he shouldered responsibilities with dedication for many years. Through the Pune Festival and the Pune International Marathon, he played a significant role in giving Pune a distinct identity not just at the national level, but on the international stage as well. Differences of opinion, conflicts, and criticism are inevitable in politics; yet, even in such circumstances, he never compromised on democratic values. He consistently upheld the stance throughout his entire career that politics is not merely a means to power, but a responsibility toward the people. Even while navigating the ups and downs of public life, he never abandoned his determination, perseverance, and self-confidence. Our heartfelt tribute to senior leader Suresh Kalmadi, who remained active in public life for a long time and left an independent mark of his achievements and leadership in the country’s social politics, politics, and administrative system! We all share in the grief of the Kalmadi family. May they find the strength to recover from this difficult time—such is our prayer!”

After Kalmadi’s exit from politics, Congress could not fill in the leadership vacuum in Pune where other parties swiftly replaced it in the power dynamics.

He had played a role in bringing National Games to Pune in 1994, started the Pune Festival, which became a landmark cultural institution over a period of three and a half decades. The Pune Festival was patronised by actor and dancer Hema Malini, and it firmly put Pune’s name on the international cultural map.

“He was the only national leader of the Congress from Pune then, who had cordial relations across party lines in Delhi,” said Mohan Joshi, a Congress leader who was the district president when Kalmadi was an MP in the 1990s.

“Pune was known as the sports city because of him. He envisioned the IT Park and proposed a single window clearance for it. He created a Pune division in the railways and started new train routes from Pune,” said Mohan Joshi. After Kalmadi took over as the chairperson of Maharashtra Tourism Development Corporation in 1989, he started the Pune Festival.

Kalmadi started the Pune International Marathon and the Pune Festival. Sports infrastructure was built in Pune after the bid for the sporting events. Pune’s Balewadi Sports Complex, officially named the Shri Shiv Chhatrapati Sports Complex, was built for the 1994 National Games in Balewadi area of Pune, featuring a main stadium and various other venues.

“There were corruption allegations against him at that time too, but the opposition was weak and fragmented then,” senior journalist Sunil Mali said.