Last Updated: February 03, 2024, 12:46 IST
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced that LK Advani will be conferred the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award. (PTI Photo)
LK Advani served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party for the longest period since its inception in 1980
Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced on Saturday that veteran BJP leader and former deputy prime minister LK Advani will be conferred the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award.
The Prime Minister made the announcement on X (formerly Twitter) saying he is very happy to share that 96-year-old Advani will be conferred the honour.
“One of the most respected statesmen of our times, his contribution to the development of India is monumental. His is a life that started from working at the grassroots to serving the nation as our Deputy Prime Minister,” Modi said on X.
Here is all you need to know about Lal Krishna Advani:
Lal Krishna Advani was born on November 8, 1927 in Karachi in the undivided India in a Sindhi family. As a student in St Patrick’s School, Karachi, his patriotic ideals inspired him to join the Rashtriya Swayamasevak Sangh (RSS) at the age of fourteen in 1941.
He was forced to migrate to Delhi during the Partition of the country and became an RSS pracharak in Rajasthan. Soft-spoken and mild mannered Advani became the face of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
Together with Vajpayee, he went on to build the BJP brick by brick and orchestrated its steep rise in the 1990s. In the late 1980s and the 1990s, he focused on building the BJP into a national political force and the results reflected in the 1989 General Election. BJP bounced back from 2 seats in 1984 to 86 seats in 1989.
He served as the President of the Bharatiya Janata Party for the longest period since its inception in 1980, according to the party’s website.
A 10-term parliamentarian, Advani has also served as the home minister and deputy prime minister and has been a key figure in the BJP’s evolution.
In the 2009 general elections, Advani projected himself as the PM candidate, despite many leaders unsupportive of the move. The BJP suffered a resounding defeat to the Congress-led UPA in the 2009 polls and impacted Advani’s stature and position within the party.
