He is the son of one of the first three Indian members of the Legislative Council of Fiji, James Ramchandar Maharaj, and was born in Nadi. After working for 16 years for a well established construction company, he started his own company.[1]
He later rejoined the NFP, and in the 1987 general election was elected to the House of Representatives from the Suva National Constituency as a member of the National Federation Party - Fiji Labour Party coalition. He was the Minister for Trade, Industry and Tourism in the month-long Bavadra government deposed by Sitiveni Rabuka.[2]
He subsequently joined the Fiji Labour Party (FLP) and served as its general secretary during the 1992 general election.[3]
Following the 2000 coup, FLP leader Mahendra Chaudhry accused Maharaj of trying to split the FLP and he subsequently left the party.[4]