Vivek Shukla
New Delhi, Dec 29 . People familiar with Delhi’s geography know that Lodi Estate is just five to seven minutes away from India Gate. After winning the New Delhi Lok Sabha seat in the 1992 by-election, Bollywood’s first superstar, Rajesh Khanna, was allotted Bungalow No. 81. In that fascinating contest, he defeated his Bollywood colleague Shatrughan Sinha. Rajesh Khanna represented the constituency from 1992 to 1996.
Naturally, Delhi has changed a lot since then. Rajesh Khanna has left this world, and Shatrughan Sinha’s political journey has taken him from the BJP to Congress and now to Trinamool. But whenever he passes through the streets of New Delhi, memories of his friend and rival Rajesh Khanna must surely come to mind, whose legacy still lives on in the heart of the capital.
The 1992 New Delhi by-election was an intensely interesting contest. The Congress fielded Rajesh Khanna, while the BJP chose Shatrughan Sinha after L.K. Advani vacated the seat. Although the outcome had no bearing on the stability of the central government, the political atmosphere heated up the moment campaigning began. Media attention was firmly fixed on the two Bollywood stars. Soon, Rajesh Khanna started gaining the upper hand. There was also sympathy for him among voters because in 1991, he had lost to Advani by a narrow margin.
Senior journalist Rama Kant Goswami recalls, “Advani ji won, but Rajesh Khanna won people’s hearts. In his very first attempt, he worked tremendously hard. In assembly segments like Minto Road and Gol Market, he surged ahead of Advani.” Dimple Kapadia also actively campaigned for him.
Rajesh Khanna won comfortably. However, the victory came at the cost of a long-standing friendship. Shatrughan Sinha later admitted that the bigger loss than the defeat was that Rajesh Khanna became upset with him. Their relationship never returned to what it once was. His media advisor Sunil Negi says that in the gatherings at 81 Lodi Estate, Rajesh Khanna never mentioned the election or Shatrughan Sinha.
Rajesh Khanna lived at 81 Lodi Estate for only four years, but even today, the bungalow’s identity remains closely associated with him. He installed a beautiful statue of Lord Ganesha at the rear of the house and would bow before it whenever he entered or left. He mostly used the back entrance.
Noted author and astrologer Dr. J.P. Sharma ‘Laldhagewale’, a close friend of Rajesh Khanna, recalls, “Kaka was full of life. Every guest was welcomed, offered tea and snacks. He had the bungalow lavishly renovated with marble and tiles. His lifestyle was regal—luxury cars in the garage, a bungalow like a five-star hotel. Reluctantly, he vacated it in 1996. Many ministers and MPs were vying to get it.”
As soon as he got the bungalow in Lodi Estate, Rajesh Khanna was extremely happy. He often used to say that living in the Lutyens’ Zone was a matter of pride. Lodi Estate is considered an extension of the Lutyens’ Zone, developed after independence. The bungalows here, in the style of Lutyens, have gardens all around and the main building in the center. There are separate quarters for servants at the back.
From Bollywood, people like Sunil Dutt, Rupesh Kumar, and Sawan Kumar Tak would frequently come and go. Before getting the government bungalow, Rajesh Khanna had lived in Som Vihar and Vasant Kunj.
Bungalow No. 81, Lodi Estate, was earlier allotted to Hemwati Nandan Bahuguna. During the 1984 Allahabad election, Bahuguna ji had requested Rajesh Khanna over the phone for campaigning, but Kaka did not go. Later, when Rajesh Khanna was contesting elections, he went to meet Bahuguna ji at his Lodi Road flat—to send a message to Uttarakhandi voters. The author himself was present at that meeting. In 1996, after Rajesh Khanna, this bungalow was allotted to BJP leader Pramod Mahajan. Ladghagvale says that after leaving Delhi once, he (Rajesh Khanna) probably never came back here. He had hopes that Congress would make him a Rajya Sabha member. But that didn’t happen. This left him very disappointed.
On May 20, 1991, at the Nirman Bhawan polling booth, Rajesh Khanna was helping Rajiv and Sonia Gandhi. The next day, Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated. Sunil Negi says that Rajesh Khanna went to newspaper offices to obtain the negative of that photograph. He got a large print made and hung it in the drawing room. Upon hearing the news of Rajiv Gandhi’s death, he wept bitterly.
(The author is a veteran journalist)
. .
