Rajiv Gandhi's Last Morning in Bhubaneswar: A Fateful Day Recalled

Bhubaneswar: Thirty-four years ago, on May 20, 1991, the political atmosphere in Bhubaneswar was charged. The presidents of three national parties – then Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar, BJP's Murli Manohar Joshi, and Congress (I) leader Rajiv Gandhi – were all present in the Odisha capital for their respective election campaigns, addressing rallies at three different locations.

While Prime Minister Chandra Shekhar stayed at the Raj Bhavan, Mr. Joshi and Mr. Gandhi were accommodated at the VIP Guest House.

The next morning, May 21, proved to be Rajiv Gandhi's last in Bhubaneswar. He held a press conference, appearing cheerful and confident. Discussing the pressing issues of Punjab and Ayodhya, he remarked, "Kuch hi dinon ki toh baat hai. We are coming back, and it will be solved once our government is formed." (It's a matter of only a few days. We are returning to power, and these issues will be resolved once our government is formed.)

Following the press conference, Mr. Gandhi departed for Visakhapatnam. He piloted the private aircraft himself, the same one he had flown from New Delhi a day earlier after casting his vote. After addressing election meetings in Andhra Pradesh, he flew to Chennai (then Madras) later that evening.

Hours later, a phone call delivered the devastating news: 'Rajiv Gandhi had been killed in a bomb blast in Madras.'

Still in a lungi, I rushed from my residence at 25A, Station Square, Masters Canteen in Unit 3, to the adjacent office of The Times of India. Madhab, the office peon-cum-guard, was woken up to unlock the teleprinter room.

As I typed out the day's tragic events on the Telex machine, a chilling historical parallel struck me. In 1984, Indira Gandhi, during a visit to Bhubaneswar on October 30, had uttered the prophetic words, "Mere khoon ka ek-ek boond desh ko mazboot karega" (Every drop of my blood will strengthen the nation). Two days later, she was assassinated. Earlier, in 1964, her father, Jawaharlal Nehru, had suffered a debilitating heart attack in Bhubaneswar before passing away in Delhi on May 27.

Rajiv Gandhi, too, had witnessed his last sunrise in Bhubaneswar.

The following day, all editions of The Times of India carried the story on the front page with the headline: "Bhubaneswar, the Jinxed Place for Nehru-Gandhi Family."