From Poona Coffee House to Commonwealth Games: The many lives of Suresh Kalmadi

Suresh Kalmadi was elected to Lok Sabha from Pune in 1996, 2004, and 2009. He served as minister of state for railways in the PV Narasimha Rao government

Pune: Former Union minister Suresh Kalmadi, whose role in sports administration defined his prominence and also led to his downfall, passed away in Pune early Tuesday. He was 81.

Suresh Kalmadi was elected to Lok Sabha from Pune in 1996, 2004, and 2009. He served as minister of state for railways in the PV Narasimha Rao government. (HT)

Kalmadi withdrew from politics after facing allegations of corruption as the head of the 2010 Delhi Commonwealth Games (CWG) Organising Committee. His arrest in 2011 and subsequent removal from key posts effectively ended his public life.

In April 2025, a Delhi court accepted the Enforcement Directorate’s closure report in an alleged money laundering case related to the CWG, effectively exonerating Kalmadi.

Kalmadi, who served as a squadron leader in the Indian Air Force and an instructor at the National Defence Academy, took voluntary retirement in the early 1970s. He acquired the Poona Coffee House in Deccan Gymkhana, an informal political nerve centre, in 1974 with the backing of socialist leader Nilubhau Limaye, a friend of his father, Shamarao Kalmadi.

Suresh Kalmadi established a network at the coffee house, which significantly aided his political career. Sharad Pawar, then a rising leader in the Congress, saw promise in the articulate and ambitious Suresh Kalmadi and entrusted him with organisational responsibilities in Pune. In 1977, Kalmadi was appointed as the Pune Youth Congress chief.

Kalmadi came to national limelight during the post-Emergency churn, when he protested against then-Prime Minister Morarji Desai in Pune, catching Congress leader Sanjay Gandhi’s attention. Kalmadi would become close to Sanjay Gandhi and later Rajiv Gandhi.

The proximity to the Gandhi family and Pawar’s patronage shaped Kalmadi’s political ascent. When Pawar split the Congress to form Congress (S), Kalmadi became the president of its youth wing. He served in the Rajya Sabha over three terms between 1982 and 1995, and briefly in 1998.

Kalmadi was elected to the Lok Sabha from Pune in 1996, 2004, and 2009. He served as minister of state for railways in the PV Narasimha Rao government (1995-1996). He often recalled with pride his tenure, particularly the renaming of Mumbai’s Victoria Terminus as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus during this time.

Kalmadi headed the Maharashtra State Athletics Federation and chaired the Athletics Federation of India’s selection committee before becoming the Indian Olympic Association chief.

The Pune International Marathon, which started in 1983, and the Pune Festival during Ganeshotsav helped cement his image as an organiser. Kalmadi was instrumental in Pune hosting the National Games in 1994 leading to the development of the Balewadi sports complex, later upgraded for the Commonwealth Youth Games (2008).

His other initiative - Pune International Film Festival - is entering 24th year and is going strong with large number of film lovers thronging in large numbers

His relationship with Sharad Pawar, however, grew strained over time, particularly after the rise of Ajit Pawar in Pune. The loss of the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC) to the Nationalist Congress Party (NCP) in 2007 marked a clear erosion of Kalmadi’s local dominance.

Once a central figure in Delhi and Pune, Kalmadi withdrew from politics as cases dragged on. For years, he remained largely absent from the public sphere, a symbol of how swiftly power could ebb.

Maharashtra deputy chief minister Ajit Pawar and NCP (SP) head Sharad Pawar lauded Kalmadi’s role in development of Pune.

In his condolence message, Ajit Pawar said Kalmadi played a crucial role in the development of Pune and his demise has created a void in the city’s political, social and cultural spheres

“With the passing of senior Congress leader and former Union minister Suresh Kalmadi, the country has lost an experienced leader who was shaped by struggle and carried a long legacy of public life,” Sharad Pawar posted on X.

Suresh Kalmadi leaves behind a complicated legacy — of ambition and organisation, of institution-building in sports and civic life, and of controversy that overshadowed his final years. From the Poona Coffee House to the corridors of power in Delhi, his life mirrored the arc of a generation of politicians who rose on networks and charisma, and fell under the weight of scrutiny and scandal.