In early 1977 the then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi suddenly called for fresh elections after her widely unpopular and controversial stint of emergency. She was ill advised by her advisors that the sudden announcement will catch the fragmented opposition unaware and ensure her win.
But it was not going happen. She was to be toppled by Janata Party, a conglomeration of Socialists and right wing Jan Sangh under an umbrella led by the legendary Jaiprakash Narayan (JP). One of the leading campaigners was a young, charismatic man who kept his audience spellbound with his rhetorics. His utterance - SINGHASAN KHALI KARO KI JANATA A RAHI HAI (Leave your seat of power, as Public is coming) drove a chord with the general public, raising goosebumps. The man was Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Janata wave that followed swept the North of Vindyas (a mountain range) bringing the party to the power, though the South stood solidly behind AMMA (Mother) Indiramma.
Vajpayee was rewarded with the foreign ministry and did a fine job in the short lived Janata government which collapsed due to its inner contradictions. A highlight of his tenure was the initiative taken by him to normalize India's relationship with China which was in the cold storage since 1962 when the Middle Kingdom backstabbed India. However, Vajpayee's attempt ended in a fiasco as China attacked Vietnam in 1978 when he was visiting Beijing, making him to rush back cut shorting his trip.
It was a lesson Vajpayee never forgot as a pragmatic politician - that the cold and calculating Chinese should never be trusted and are a long term threat to India. The Pokhran Nuclear test in 1999 under his auspices was primarily directed to China as a deterrent against India's northern neighbor who has the advantage of having a super conventional military force.
Vajpayee almost lost in New Delhi in 1980, scraping through by a slim margin of 5000 votes as Indira Gandhi came back in power. But he failed to get elected to Lok Sabha in 1984, losing in Gwalior to the local prince Madhavrao Scindhia due to the Indira wave that followed, virtually wiping off opposition. BJP was left with two seats in Lok Sabha, its two MPs ridiculed as HUM DO, HAMARE DO (We two, ours two) - the popular family planning slogan of that time.
But under his leadership, along with L K Advani, his party BJP won 90 odd seats in 1989 - the real gainer in that election. BJP continued to rise, but the Prime Ministership eluded him until a decade in 1999 (Vajpayee was PM for a few days in 1996). He continued the economic reforms where his predecessor Narasimha Rao left off.
Under Vajpayee's leadership India's economic growth gained traction. He focused on the development of modern roads, airports etc as he realized that infrastructure development is key to India's economic growth. India was really shining. But alas, the people did not think so as they denied him a well deserved 2nd term in 2004. It yet vindicated that we are champions of rewarding mediocrity while ignoring achievers.
It was rumored (may be deliberately by Congress party) that Vajpayee ate Beef. In one of the election campaign Congress came with a slogan -
GAYA HAMARI MATA HAI
ATAL BIHARI KHATA HAI, meaning
Cow is our mother
Which Atal Bihar devours.
Congress party is known to practice soft Hindutva when it suits them. It hardly had effect as Congress was soundly defeated.
Though a Brahmin, Atal Jee loved the Waters of Scotland and non-vegetarian food of meat and fish. It created havoc in his health with high BP and cholesterol, but the recalcitrant dad won't listen to the advice of his adopted daughter (Vajapayee was a bachelor) who regularly checked on him. Yet he lived his full till 93. He was revered by Muslims for being a moderate which is difficult to imagine any modern day BJP leaders to command such respect from the minority. RIP the great poet leader.
But it was not going happen. She was to be toppled by Janata Party, a conglomeration of Socialists and right wing Jan Sangh under an umbrella led by the legendary Jaiprakash Narayan (JP). One of the leading campaigners was a young, charismatic man who kept his audience spellbound with his rhetorics. His utterance - SINGHASAN KHALI KARO KI JANATA A RAHI HAI (Leave your seat of power, as Public is coming) drove a chord with the general public, raising goosebumps. The man was Atal Bihari Vajpayee. The Janata wave that followed swept the North of Vindyas (a mountain range) bringing the party to the power, though the South stood solidly behind AMMA (Mother) Indiramma.
Vajpayee was rewarded with the foreign ministry and did a fine job in the short lived Janata government which collapsed due to its inner contradictions. A highlight of his tenure was the initiative taken by him to normalize India's relationship with China which was in the cold storage since 1962 when the Middle Kingdom backstabbed India. However, Vajpayee's attempt ended in a fiasco as China attacked Vietnam in 1978 when he was visiting Beijing, making him to rush back cut shorting his trip.
It was a lesson Vajpayee never forgot as a pragmatic politician - that the cold and calculating Chinese should never be trusted and are a long term threat to India. The Pokhran Nuclear test in 1999 under his auspices was primarily directed to China as a deterrent against India's northern neighbor who has the advantage of having a super conventional military force.
Vajpayee almost lost in New Delhi in 1980, scraping through by a slim margin of 5000 votes as Indira Gandhi came back in power. But he failed to get elected to Lok Sabha in 1984, losing in Gwalior to the local prince Madhavrao Scindhia due to the Indira wave that followed, virtually wiping off opposition. BJP was left with two seats in Lok Sabha, its two MPs ridiculed as HUM DO, HAMARE DO (We two, ours two) - the popular family planning slogan of that time.
But under his leadership, along with L K Advani, his party BJP won 90 odd seats in 1989 - the real gainer in that election. BJP continued to rise, but the Prime Ministership eluded him until a decade in 1999 (Vajpayee was PM for a few days in 1996). He continued the economic reforms where his predecessor Narasimha Rao left off.
Under Vajpayee's leadership India's economic growth gained traction. He focused on the development of modern roads, airports etc as he realized that infrastructure development is key to India's economic growth. India was really shining. But alas, the people did not think so as they denied him a well deserved 2nd term in 2004. It yet vindicated that we are champions of rewarding mediocrity while ignoring achievers.
It was rumored (may be deliberately by Congress party) that Vajpayee ate Beef. In one of the election campaign Congress came with a slogan -
GAYA HAMARI MATA HAI
ATAL BIHARI KHATA HAI, meaning
Cow is our mother
Which Atal Bihar devours.
Congress party is known to practice soft Hindutva when it suits them. It hardly had effect as Congress was soundly defeated.
Though a Brahmin, Atal Jee loved the Waters of Scotland and non-vegetarian food of meat and fish. It created havoc in his health with high BP and cholesterol, but the recalcitrant dad won't listen to the advice of his adopted daughter (Vajapayee was a bachelor) who regularly checked on him. Yet he lived his full till 93. He was revered by Muslims for being a moderate which is difficult to imagine any modern day BJP leaders to command such respect from the minority. RIP the great poet leader.
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