Atal Bihari Vajpayee (often wrongly spelt Behari; अटल बिहारी वाजपेयी in Devnagari) (born December 25, 1924) was the Prime Minister of India in 1996 and again from 1998 until May 19, 2004.
Vajpayee is a native of Gwalior in Madhya Pradesh state and has been active in Indian politics throughout his adult life.
He was one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, a party linked to the Hindu organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), of which he was the president between 1968 and 1973. He was first elected to the Parliament of India in 1957 and was the leader of the Jana Sangh political party up to the formation of the Janata Party in 1977. He served as the Foreign Minister in the government of Morarji Desai from March 1977 to July 1979. In 1980, he left the Janata Party,and helped form the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was leader of the BJP parliamentary party between 1980 and 1984, 1986 and between 1993 and 1996. He was the leader of the Opposition in the 11th Lok Sabha.
First Tenure
Even tough it lacked the majority the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), headed by Vajpayee, emerged as the single largest party in Lok Sabha elections of 1996. President of India invited BJP to form the government and prove its majority within 14 days. Thus Vajpayee became the Prime Minister for the first time. The BJP government was unable to prove its majority and lasted only for 13 days.
Second Tenure
He became Prime Minister for the second time in 1998, but that government only lasted for 13 months, since the AIADMK withdrew support to the government. Then the polls for the thirteenth Lok Sabha were held in which he was re-elected on October 13, 1999, at the head of a coalition government controlled by the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), of which the BJP was a major component.NDA controlled a majority of 303 mps in a house of 545.
His prime ministership saw a lot of action. On December 241999, Indian Airlines flight 814 was hijacked from Kathmandu to Delhi
Under his leadership, India steadly recorded great economic growth at 7-8%. Under his prime ministership, India gradually broke away with socialism and embraced capitalism and free market economy.
In 2004, Vajpayee made peace overtures to Pakistan in hopes of settling their long-running dispute over Kashmir. He called an early election in hopes of winning another term but was defeated and resigned as both prime minister and party leader on May 12, 2004. He was succeeded as prime minister by Dr. Manmohan Singh of the Congress led coalition United Progressive Alliance.
He is well-known for being a poet, and has published a book of poetry. He is a bachelor, and has an adopted daughter. He is a follower of Sathya Sai Baba.
When in office he conducted a series of two days of nuclear testing in the desert regions of Rajasthan (a northwestern state of India that borders Pakistan, India's arch rival). This action made India an official Nuclear Power, and was succeeded by Pakistan's own nuclear tests in response to public pressure and in spite of America's repeated warnings about sanctions.
Vajpayee with Pakistani President
Pervez Musharraf. Vajpayee made peace overtures to Pakistan and attempted to resolve the Kashmir dispute.
Life after Elections 2004
After the NDA lost the elections in 2004, he refused the post of Leader of the Opposition and was instead elected leader of the NDA. Lal Krishna Advani, his deputy when he was Prime Minister was elected leader of the opposition. Ironically, this situation is a mirror of the situation of the ruling UPA in which Sonia Gandhi leads the UPA while Dr. Manmohan Singh is the Prime Minister.
His retirement from politics has been the subject of great speculation in the media as he has hinted from time to time that he will retire soon. The speculation is also related to curiosity about the future of the Bharatiya Janata Party - in particular, who the leaders of the BJP will be after Vajpayee and Advani.
Last updated: 10-17-2005 03:27:15
