Rediff.com

Mumbai, May 4: The funeral procession of Bharatiya Janata Party leader Pramod Mahajan began from his Worli residence for Shivaji Park crematorium on Thursday morning.

The body was wrapped in a tricolour and kept on a flower-bedded truck.

Hundreds of followers, friends, family members and party colleagues were part of the procession.

The procession will move along the Annie Beasant Road before reaching the crematorium, about 2 km away, where the funeral will take place with state honours.

As the procession made its way to the Shivaji Park crematorium, hundreds of BJP workers and Mahajan's admirers lined the streets to catch the last glimpse of their leader.

BJP president Rajnath Singh and Mahajan's son Rahul were among the pall bearers.

Shops along the roads from where the procession passed remained closed and party flags, posters were put up there.

Earlier, police contingent gave a ceremonial salute before the body was put in an open truck.

Slogans like Pramod Mahajan amar rahe and Jab tak suraj chand rahega, Mahajan tera naam rahega rent the air as the funeral procession headed for the cremation grounds.

Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Leaders of Opposition in Parliament Lal Kishenchand Advani and Jaswant Singh, RSS chief K S Sudarshan, Home Minister Shivraj Patil, Agriculture Minister Sharad Pawar, Civil Aviation Minister Praful Patel, Maharashtra Chief Minister Vilasrao Deshmukh, chief ministers of BJP-ruled states and senior leaders sat in a special enclosure at the crematorium.

Mahajan's son Rahul will light the funeral pyre amidst chanting of vedic hymns as buglers will sound the last post in honour of the late leader.