A day in the life of a political negotiator

The path of a negotiator is studded with landmines, but when the principal negotiator becomes a political actor, problems can arise for the party

It could have been the Cuban cigars. Or it may have been hard-nosed bargaining and a recognition of the facts of life. When Balasaheb Thackeray and Pramod Mahajan entered into seat adjustment on behalf of the Shiv Sena and the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1989, it was Mahajan who did much of the heavy lifting in persuading his own party that the balance of advantage would ultimately lie in favour of the BJP.

Among other things, Balasaheb’s derisive references to the BJP as “Kamalabai” conveyed to Sena workers a sense of braggadocio that sometimes irritated Mahajan and co. Murli Manohar