Atal Bihari Vajpayee Biography, Political Career, Achievements, Death

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was one of the greatest Indian politicians and diplomats serving three terms as India’s Prime Minister. He served as Prime Minister of India for the first time in 1996 for 13 days only, for the second time he served for 13 months from 1998 to 1999 and his last term as Prime Minister was a full term from 1999 to 2004.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee served as a senior leader and one of the co-founders of the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP) and president (1968–1972). He served in the Indian Parliament for more than 50 years, and he was twice elected to the Rajya Sabha and ten times to the Lok Sabha. Due to health issues, he ended his political career in 2009 as the Member of Parliament for Lucknow.

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Atal Bihari Vajpayee Birth Anniversary

On December 25th 2023, marks the 99th birth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, India’s beloved former Prime Minister. He was born on December 25th, 1924, and served as Prime Minister three times, leaving a lasting legacy in Indian politics and society. Good Governance Day is proclaimed on the same day of Vajpayee’s birthday, December 25

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Biography

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was an Indian politician and poet who served three terms as the 10th Prime Minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 to 1999, followed by a full term from 1999 to 2004. Vajpayee was one of the co-founders and a senior leader of the BJP.

A former Indian prime minister was Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He visited the office three times, the first time for 13 days in 1996, the second time for 13 months in 1998–1999, and the third time for 13 days in 1999–2004 of India. He started in politics as a Bharatiya Jana Sangh member of parliament before serving as the minister of external affairs in the Janata government under Morarji Desai.

He and the other Bharatiya Jana Sangh members established the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after the Janata administration was overthrown. He played a key role in the BJP’s nationwide growth during the following 15 years. As a result, the BJP won the most votes in the general elections of 1996, 1998, and 1999, and he was elected prime minister. Throughout his career, he was elected twice to the Rajya Sabha and ten times to the Lok Sabha.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Death Anniversary

On August 16, leaders from a variety of political backgrounds and connections gathered at the “Sadaiv Atal” memorial in Delhi as the country celebrated the melancholy event of the death anniversary of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. On the fifth anniversary of Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s passing, Vice President Jagdeep Dhankhar, Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, Nitin Gadkari, Rajya Sabha Deputy Chairman Harivansh, Praful Patel, Arjun Ram Meghwal, Union Minister Anupriya Patel, and HAM’s Jitan Ram also paid tribute to him. On the anniversary of his passing, Namita Kaur Bhattacharya, the foster daughter of former PM Atal Bihari, presents flowers at “Saidav Atal.”

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Cause of Death

On June 11, 2018, Vajpayee was critically ill and brought to the hospital. He spent more than two months in the hospital due to his deteriorating condition. On August 16, 2018, he passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New, Delhi.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Early Life and Education

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born to Krishna Devi and Krishna Bihari Vajpayee on December 25, 1924, in Gwalior. His father school teacher and wrote poetry. Saraswati Shishu Mandir in Gwalior is where Atal Bihari Vajpayee finished high school. He then obtained his degree from Victoria College in Gwalior. From DAV College in Kanpur, he received his postgraduate degree in MA in Political Science.

He joined the Arya Kumar Sabha, the organization’s youth division, and was always an activist, rising to the position of general secretary in 1944. In 1942, he and his brother Prem both took part in the Quit India Movement.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee became a swayamsevak in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1939. From 1940 to 1944, he attended the Officers’ Training Camp, then in 1947, he joined permanently (also known as a pracharak). He enrolled in law school in the interim but dropped out due to the upheaval brought on by India’s split. After that, he was assigned to work as a vistarak (probationary pracharak) for several newspapers in Uttar Pradesh, including Rashtradharama, Panchjanya, Swadesh, and Veer Arjun.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Political Career

In 1951, Vajpayee started working for the newly founded political group Bharatiya Jana Sangh, which marked the beginning of his formal political career. He was chosen to serve as the Northern Region’s nation secretary for the party. He frequently appeared with Syama Prasad Mukherjee, the party’s leader, over the years. To protest the alleged discrimination against non-Kashmiri Indian tourists to the state, Vajpayee and Mukherjee embarked on a fast-until-death in Kashmir in 1954. During the strike, Syama Prasad Mukherjee was detained and passed away in prison.

In 1944, he was elected general secretary of the movement’s young branch, the Arya Samaj, founded in Gwalior by Arya Kumar Sabha. In 1939, he became a Swayamsevak, or volunteer, in the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). He actively joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) in 1942. The RSS encouraged Atal Bihari Vajpayee to collaborate with the newly founded Bhartiya Janta Sangh, a Hindu right-wing political group, in 1951.

He was chosen to lead the party of the Northern region, which is centred in Delhi, as the national secretary. Vajpayee ran for the Lok Sabha in the 1957 Indian general elections, but he was defeated in Mathura by Raja Mahendra Pratap and won the Balrampur seat. The then-President of India, Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru, was pleased by his orienting skills in the Lok Sabha. He foresaw that Atal Bihari Vajpayee will become India’s prime minister one day.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee History

The BJP was asked to form the government following the 1996 general elections. Even though BJP had become the single-largest party, a clear majority was still lacking. After thirteen days, Vajpayee was forced to quit since the party was unable to secure the necessary backing from other parties to win a majority.

In the general elections of 1998, the BJP once again won the most votes and joined forces with other like-minded parties to establish the National Democratic Alliance (NDA). Vajpayee was re-sworn in as prime minister because the coalition’s power outweighed the requirement for a simple majority. But, this government lasted only 13 months as Jayalalitha’s party AIADMK withdrew support from the government. The government lost the confidence motion in the Lok Sabha by a single vote.

The Atal Bihari Vajpayee government made several ground-breaking moves during its 13-month tenure. In May 1998, India conducted five nuclear tests in Pokhran, making it a nuclear weapons state. Vajpayee also started a bus service between Delhi and Lahore to promote peace and goodwill with Pakistan. The Lahore Declaration attempted to improve the friendship and ties between Pakistan and India. Under Vajpayee’s command, the three-month-long Kargil War was also fought. The Kargil victory improved Vajpayee’s standing in politics.

The BJP-led NDA won a sizable majority in the general elections of 1999, and on October 13, 1999, Vajpayee took the oath of office as prime minister. Vajpayee made some significant decisions during his third term and implemented numerous economic and infrastructure improvements. He had a preference for the Pradhan Mantri Gramme Sadak Yojana and the National Highways Development Project. To assist everyone in receiving a basic education, he started the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan in 2001. He played a key role in forging tight ties with the United States. President Bill Clinton and Vajpayee both signed the Historic Vision Document.

The RSS, the newly established government’s parent organisation, put pressure on it to further the Hindutva agenda. But the party couldn’t impose its will because it needed coalition support. Trade unions chastised him for his propensity for privatisation. The Vajpayee administration was one of India’s most pro-reform administrations, and it was able to privatise some PSUs that were operating at a loss.

The Ayodhya issue was the one that put the Vajpayee government under the most stress out of all the other issues. At the Babri Masjid, the Vishwa Hindu Parishad sought to compel the construction of a temple. In addition to implying utter disrespect for the law, this also implied a danger of racial violence. Hindu-Muslim riots broke out in Gujarat, a state governed by the BJP, in 2002. Muslims were killed in huge numbers as a result of the riots, and Vajpayee came under fire for his failure to quickly bring the situation under control.

The Vajpayee-led NDA government moved forward with general elections by six months in late 2003 as a result of his party’s victory in the assembly elections in Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Chattisgarh. In the 2004 general elections, the BJP-led NDA alliance, however, was unable to secure a decisive majority. United Progressive Alliance (UPA) is the name of the coalition that Congress created with other parties. The coalition’s leader was chosen to be Manmohan Singh. Manmohan Singh succeeded Vajpayee as prime minister of India after the latter’s resignation.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Retirement

Atal Bihari Vajpayee decided not to continue serving as the opposition leader after stepping down as prime minister. He continues to lead the NDA, nevertheless. He announced his retirement from active politics in December 2005 and his decision not to run in the following general elections.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Personal Life

Throughout his whole life, Atal Bihari Vajpayee stayed single. Namita Bhattacharya is the name of his adopted daughter. Indian classical music and dancing were favourites of Vajpayee’s. He also enjoyed poetry and produced some of his own.

He had a stroke in 2009, which significantly affected his capacity for speech and thought. He was confined to a wheelchair in his final years and had trouble recognising individuals. Additionally, throughout the last few years of his life, he did not appear at any public events.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Books

Atal Bihari Vajpayee has written a few books, given below is the list of all the books written by Atal Bihari Vajpayee:

• National Integration – 1961
• India’s Foreign Policy: New Dimensions – 1977
• Dynamics of an Open Society – 1977
• Assam Problem: Repression no Solution – 1981
• Atal Bihari Vaj Mem Tina Dasaka – 1992
• Kucha Lekha, Kucha Bhashana – 1996
• Sekyularavada: Bharatiya Parikalpana (Dr. Rajendra Prasada Smaraka Vyakhyanamala) – 1996
• Rajaniti ki Rapatili Rahem – 1997
• Back to Square One – 1998
• Decisive Days – 1999
• Sakti Se Santi – 1999
• Pradhan Mantri Atal Bihari Vajpayee Ke Chune Hue Bhashana – 2000
• Values, Vision & Verses of Vajpayee: India’s Man of Destiny – 2001
• India’s Perspectives on ASEAN and the Asia-Pacific Region – 2003

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Awards

The Bharat Ratna Award, India’s highest civilian honour, was given to Atal Bihari Vajpayee. On March 27, 2015, at his home, the then-President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, presented him with this honour. He also received the Padma Vibhushan (1992), the Outstanding Parliamentarian Award (1994), and the Lokmanya Tilak Award (1994).

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