Madhavsinh Solanki,a poll tactician who shaped Cong in Gujarat

A scribe-turned-politician whowent on to become CM of Gujarat on four occasions, a masterstrategist whose famous ''KHAM'' formula of social engineeringensured a landslide victory for the Congress in 1985 and anavid reader--Madhavsinh Solanki wore many hats in his careerwhich included a brief stint as a foreign affairs minister.

The death of the party veteran, who dominated thepolitics of Gujarat before the rise of the BJP and NarendraModi, is a big loss for the Congress which had won 149 out ofthe 182 seats in the state elections held in 1985, arecord-of-sorts which still remains unbroken.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who remained a star ofthe Gujarat politics for years, acknowledged Solanki's staturein his condolence tweet as, ''Shri Madhavsinh Solanki Ji was aformidable leader, playing a key role in Gujarat politics fordecades. He will be remembered for his rich service tosociety''.

The 93-year-old Congress veteran breathed his last athis residence in Gandhinagar on Saturday morning.

Born in a modest family in Piludra village in Bharuchdistrict, Solanki started his career as a journalist with'Gujarat Samachar' before joining politics.

He was first elected as an MLA from then Bombay statein 1957 when Gujarat and Maharashtra were not separated.

He became an MLA of the Gujarat Assembly in 1960,after the two states were separated on a linguistic basis.

In 1975, Solanki became the president of GujaratCongress unit, and after that, he never looked back.

He became chief minister of Gujarat in December 1976,but his tenure lasted only till 1977.

However, Solanki got another chance in 1980.

The idea of an alliance of the Kshatriyas, Harijans,Adivasis (tribasl) and Muslims (KHAM) worked wonders for theCongress.

However, Solanki was forced to step down again as CMin March, 1985, after he cleared reservation for OBCs on therecommendations of Justice Baxi commission which triggeredanti-quota protests.

Sensing opportunity in the prevalent social scenarioat that time, he decided to consolidate the Congress' hold inthe west Indian state through social engineering andexperimented with KHAM.

In the assembly elections held in 1985, the Congressled by Solanki won unprecedented 149 seats of the total 182seats in the state Assembly, a fete which has no parallel inthe history of the state politics.

However, as the anti-quota agitation continued andculminated into communal riots, Solanki once again resigned aschief minister in July 1985, just five months after he becamethe CM for the third time in the state.

His fourth and last term as CM lasted from December,1989 to May 1990. Solanki had been the longest serving chief minister ofthe state before Narendra Modi became CM.

As a politician, Solanki is credited to introduce themid-day meal scheme which was later adopted in primary schoolsin the entire country and for offering free education to girlsin Gujarat.

Another big break in politics came for Solanki, whenhe became External Affairs Minister of India in June 1991.

However, he resigned in March 1992 in the wake of acontroversy following his meeting with then Switzerlandforeign minister in Davos during which he allegedly made someremarks regarding the Bofors case probe.

Solanki had also served as a two term MP of RajyaSabha from Gujarat.

Paradoxically, the very KHAM formula of Solanki, whichalienated upper caste Hindus from the Congress, became thereason for the rise of the BJP in the state in 1990s.

The BJP has been in power in Gujarat since 1995.

Solanki then chose life away from politics. During thelast 18 years, Solanki pursued his interest in reading andpromoting culture.

He mostly played as a mentor for budding politicians.

Former state Congress president Arjun Modhvadiarecalled that Solanki was the first person to call him upafter he had delivered his first speech as an MLA in theLegislative Assembly.

''He used to guide us like a mentor,'' Modhvadia said.

Solanki's son Bharatsinh Solanki is a former Unionminister.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)