New Delhi, May 21 (India Today) : In the two years before Rajiv Gandhi was assassinated, India had witness political instability. The Second Janata experiment had failed and Congress had once become the lone political option and alternative.

Former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi was more than confident of getting back power in the mid-term Lok Sabha elections of 1991. Rajiv Gandhi was on a campaign spree. Rajiv Gandhi believed he was going to be the Prime Minister once again. His election campaign was vigorous.

Incidentally, Rajiv Gandhi's campaign remained unmatched till Narendra Modi launched his for the 2014 polls.

FATE TOOK RAJIV TO MADRAS

It was around 6 o'clock in the evening when Rajiv Gandhi finished his electioneering in Andhra Pradesh's Visakhapatnam. His chopper was being readied for his flight to Madras - as Chennai was known as then - where a host of Congress leaders including GK Moopanar, Margatham Chandrashekhar and young Jayanthi Natrajan.

Rajiv Ganndhi's pilot, suddenly, informed him that the chopper had developed some technical snag and flying to Chennai wouldn't be possible. A disappointed Rajiv Gandhi headed towards the state guest house.

While Rajiv Gandhi was still on his way to the guest house, the police team escorting him received a wireless message that the chopper was ready to fly. Rajiv Gandhi made an about turn and headed again towards the airport.

Rajiv Gandhi's pilot Captain Chandok would later reveal that the engineers of King's Airways had fixed the technical snag in the communication system of the chopper.

Rajiv Gandhi was in such a hurry and so eager to reach Chennai that he didn't even bother to inform his own personal security chief OP Sagar, who was traveling in a separate van. Rajiv went to Madras without his personal security team.

CHENNAI TO SRIPERUMBUDUR

Minutes before 8.30 in the evening, Rajiv Gandhi was received by Congress leaders at Madras. Rajiv Gandhi had to address an election rally at Sriperumbudur that night. He was already late for the rally.

Rajiv Gandhi got into a car along with M Chandrashekhar, GK Moopanar and Ramamurthy. Jayanti Natrajan would follow him in another car.

It was already 10 past 10 on the night of May 21, 1991, when Rajiv Gandhi reached Sriperumbudur. A huge gathering was there waiting for Rajiv Gandhi. A song was being played showering praise on Rajiv Gandhi invoking name of his mother Indira Gandhi.

There were separate gatherings of men and women. Rajiv Gandhi first went towards men and then headed towards the gallery where women were cheering for him.

Among the crowd was a young woman of around 30, who moved towards Rajiv Gandhi purposefully. A woman police constable, later identified as Anusuya, tried to stop the lady but Rajiv Gandhi intervened and asked her to let the woman inside the fence. "Don't worry. Relax," Rajiv Gandhi had said.

And, then came true Rajiv Gandhi's own prediction made seven years ago, when Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984. What Rajiv Gandhi said to woman police constable were his last words.

RAJIV GANDHI'S PREDICTION

Indira Gandhi's close associate PC Alexander, whose presidential candidature was opposed by Congress president Sonia Gandhi later, has written his book, My Days With Indira Gandhi, that he saw Rajiv Gandhi and his wife fighting in the corridor of AIIMS in New Delhi after the assassination of the former Prime Minister.

Rajiv Gandhi told Sonia that the Congress party wanted him to take oath as the Prime Minister after Indira Gandhi's death. Sonia Gandhi, wrote Alexander, was dead against the idea. "No, they will kill you too," Alexander quoted Sonia Gandhi as saying in his book.
Rajiv Gandhi, Alexander wrote, replied saying that 'I don't have an alternative. I will anyway get killed.' This was October 31, 1984.

On May 21, 1991 LTTE's suicide bomber Dhanu triggered the bomb as she bent to touch Rajiv Gandhi's feet and the former Prime Minister attempted to lift her.

It was 10.21 pm, the investigation diary noted.

There was blood and human flesh everywhere. Rajiv Gandhi's body was identified from his Lotto shoes and Gucci wrist watch. His body was lying near his security in-charge Pradeep Gupta.

AT 10, JANPATH, NEW DELHI

It was around 10.25 on the fateful night that Sonia Gandhi received a call from someone asking if everything was fine. The Gandhis had been preparing to call it a night and Rajiv Gandhi's personal secretary Vincent George had left for day.

Sensing trouble, Sonia Gandhi immediately summoned for Vincent George, who had just reached his home and was greeted with a phone call from Madras informing about the bad news. When Sonia Gandhi called up Vincent George, he was on the phone call fom Madras.

Sonia waited for Vincent George to finish his call but Rajiv Gandhi's personal secretary could not then muster courage to tell her what had happened on the phone. He rather rushed back to 10, Janpath, where he told what happened at Sriperumbudur.

By that time, many Congress leaders had started gathering at 10, Janpath. Sonia Gandhi's wails could easily be heard by them.

PRIYANKA IN CONTROL

Rashid Kidwai writes in Sonia Gandhi's biography that she had an attack of asthma as she cried inconsolably. She was not in a position to have control over anything. No one knew what needed to be done.

Suddenly, Priyanka Gandhi gathered herself and asked Vincent George to arrange for their travel to Madras, where the body of Rajiv Gandhi was being taken to.

Meanwhile, the then President R Venkataraman called up to express his condolences. On learning that the Gandhis were planning to go to Madras, he advised not to go there as the situation was bad.

But, Priyanka Gandhi insisted on going to Madras. Some three hours later past midnight, they reached Madras only to be told that Sonia and Priyanka could not see the face of Rajiv Gandhi. He was lying in a coffin.

INVESTIGATION

The investigation of the case was handed over to a special team under CRPF IG DR Karthikeyan. The team found out that it was an LTTE plot.

Seven members of LTTE were arrested. However, main conspirator Sivarasan and his associates committed suicide consuming cyanide capsule.

But, it was fast-paced investigation as the charge-sheet was filed before the first death anniversary of Rajiv Gandhi.