BJP leaders perform a special havan at the party headquarters in New Delhi to mark LK Advani's 99th birthday. (Ing: X)
New Delhi: The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) organised a special puja and havan at its headquarters in New Delhi on Sunday to celebrate the 99th birthday of veteran leader and Bharat Ratna awardee Lal Krishna Advani. Senior party leaders, including BJP National President Nitin Nabin, participated in the religious ceremony and prayed for the veteran politician's good health and longevity as he entered the hundredth year of his life.
The birthday celebrations, which coincided with Diwali, also featured a special video presentation highlighting Advani's political journey, landmark speeches and contribution to the growth of the BJP. Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and several other senior leaders paid tribute to the former Deputy Prime Minister, recognising his role in shaping the party and India's political landscape.
The BJP organised the special havan at its Central Office in New Delhi between 10 am and 10:30 am. BJP president Nitin Nabin and other senior party functionaries participated in the ceremony, which was organised to mark Advani's birthday and seek blessings for his continued good health.
Several prominent leaders, including Union Minister Piyush Goyal and Advani's daughter Pratibha Advani, attended the programme. Following the religious ceremony, the party screened a special 20-minute video presentation showcasing important milestones in Advani's political career, his speeches and his contribution to the organisation. The programme also included presentations and addresses by senior leaders recalling significant episodes from his public life.
BJP National President Nitin Nabin was scheduled to address the gathering after the screening, highlighting the veteran leader's ideological commitment, organisational skills and contribution to the party's expansion.
The BJP said the celebrations were intended to honour Advani's dedication to the nation, his long public career and his role in strengthening the organisation. The party also emphasised that the ideals and political contributions of its senior leaders and mentors would continue to guide future generations of party workers.
Nitin Nabin extended birthday greetings to Advani through a message on social media platform X, describing the Bharat Ratna recipient and former Deputy Prime Minister as a guiding figure for the party. He highlighted Advani's contribution to the transformation of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh into the BJP, the expansion of the party's organisational network and the spread of its nationalist ideology across the country.
Nabin also credited the veteran leader with playing a decisive role in transforming the Shri Ram Janmabhoomi movement into a mass political mobilisation. He noted that Advani's integrity in public life, ideological commitment and dedication to organisational responsibilities remained important sources of inspiration for BJP workers.
In a separate video message, the BJP president described Advani's life as an example of unwavering commitment to ideology. He also credited the veteran leader with building a strong leadership team during his tenure, with several members of that generation subsequently occupying important positions in the party and the government.
Earlier on Sunday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a detailed tribute to Advani through an article published in several national newspapers and shared on X. Modi recalled the veteran leader's early life in Sindh, his displacement during the Partition of India in 1947 and his determination to rebuild his life in the aftermath of one of the most traumatic events in the subcontinent's history.
Born on November 8, 1927, in Karachi, present-day Pakistan, Advani experienced the hardships of Partition as a young man. Modi highlighted his ability to overcome personal difficulties without bitterness and channel his experiences into building a political career dedicated to public service. The Prime Minister also recalled Advani's contribution to strengthening the Jana Sangh and subsequently establishing the BJP as a major national political force.
During Advani's tenures as BJP president, the party achieved significant electoral milestones. The Congress witnessed a sharp decline in its parliamentary strength in the 1989 Lok Sabha elections, while the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha for the first time in 1996.
Modi credited Advani with nurturing generations of party workers, strengthening the organisational structure and establishing the principle of Nation First as a central element of the BJP's political identity. He also highlighted Advani's ideological clarity, intellectual sharpness and his criticism of what he described as pseudo-secularism in Indian politics.
The Prime Minister also recalled the longstanding association between Advani and former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, describing their political partnership as an exceptional example of cooperation between two influential leaders.
The two leaders worked together for several decades, playing a central role in the Jana Sangh and the subsequent development of the BJP. Their partnership helped transform the party's political standing, expand its national presence and establish it as a major force in India's parliamentary democracy.
Modi also remembered Advani's contribution during the Emergency, his role in the Somnath-to-Ayodhya Rath Yatra and his administrative responsibilities as Union Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. He wished the veteran leader good health as he entered the hundredth year of his life.
Union Home Minister Amit Shah also extended birthday greetings to Advani, describing him as one of the principal architects of the BJP and a statesman whose public life reflected the principle of putting the nation first.
In his message on X, Shah highlighted Advani's journey from his early political involvement to becoming a founding member of the BJP, serving as its national president and eventually occupying the country's second-highest executive office as Deputy Prime Minister.
He emphasised that Advani's political career represented decades of organisational work, public service and commitment to national interests. Shah also acknowledged the veteran leader's contribution to establishing the BJP as a major political organisation and strengthening its ideological foundation.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh also extended his greetings, highlighting the standards of integrity, dedication and leadership that Advani established during his long public career. Senior BJP leader and Union Minister Piyush Goyal described Advani as an exceptional example of national commitment, ideological conviction and organisational dedication.
The tributes from the party's senior leadership reflected the continuing influence of Advani's political legacy within the BJP and the importance attached to his contribution to its organisational development.
Born in Karachi on November 8, 1927, Lal Krishna Advani joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a swayamsevak in 1942. Following Partition, he moved to India and gradually became involved in the organisational and political activities of the Jana Sangh.
Over the decades, he emerged as one of the most influential leaders of the organisation and played a central role in the formation and expansion of the BJP after its establishment in 1980.
Advani served as BJP national president during three separate periods: 1986-1990, 1993-1998 and 2004-2005. His association with the party's leadership structure and organisational expansion made him one of its longest-serving presidents.
He became Union Home Minister in 1998 and held the position from 1999 to 2004 in the NDA government led by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. He subsequently served as Deputy Prime Minister from 2002 to 2004.
His political career also included a prominent role in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, particularly through the historic Somnath-to-Ayodhya Rath Yatra in 1990, which significantly influenced India's political discourse and electoral landscape.
In recognition of his long-standing contribution to Indian politics and public life, Advani was conferred the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 2024. President Droupadi Murmu presented the award at his residence in New Delhi in March 2024, recognising his decades of service and influence on the country's political development.
The honour acknowledged his contribution as a parliamentarian, party organiser, Union Minister and Deputy Prime Minister. As Advani enters the hundredth year of his life, the BJP's birthday celebrations and tributes from the country's senior leadership underline his enduring place in the party's history and India's contemporary political narrative.
The special havan at the BJP headquarters, the commemorative video presentation and the messages from senior leaders reflected the party's effort to recognise the contribution of one of its most prominent founding-era figures.
