The 101st birth anniversary of the late Atal Bihari Vajpayee falls on December 25, making it an apt moment to reflect on his legacy. What is often overlooked is that when Vajpayee was appointed president of the Jan Sangh (now the BJP) in 1967—following the assassination of Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya at Mughal Sarai (now Deen Dayal Nagar)—he was only about 45 years old. At the time, he became the youngest president in the party’s history. The coincidence that the BJP’s newly appointed national working president, Mr. Nitin Naveen, is also 45 has sparked enthusiasm among party workers, many of whom view it as the beginning of a new chapter for the party. Indeed, the Jan Sangh–BJP has been unique in post-Independence India for repeatedly springing political surprises and altering the course of politics in unexpected ways.
A key strength of the party has been its ability to exploit the weaknesses of the Congress while skillfully using symbols to connect with the public—an important factor behind its enduring appeal. Vajpayee’s elevation to the party presidency at such a young age sent ripples through national politics, especially at a time when the Congress leadership was largely dominated by older figures, even though Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, who took office in 1966, was comparatively young. However, there is no true parallel between Vajpayee and the current BJP president, Nitin Naveen. By the time Vajpayee assumed the Jan Sangh presidency, he had already carved out a distinct and respected place in national politics, to the extent that recordings of his Lok Sabha speeches were played at Jan Sangh public meetings to draw and inspire crowds.
Whenever Mr. Vajpayee held a public meeting in any city, it was announced throughout the town beforehand, urging people to come to a specific location or ground to hear Mr. Vajpayee, the “lion-voiced orator of Parliament.” I still vividly remember that in 1969, in my hometown of Najibabad in Uttar Pradesh, the late Mr. Vajpayee’s public meeting was held in the grounds of Murti Devi Saraswati Inter College. That year, mid-term elections were being held for the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. Prior to this, in 1967, state assembly elections had taken place, in which the Jan Sangh had achieved significant success, with 101 members elected to the 418-member assembly. It was the second-largest party in the state after the Congress. In those 1967 elections, the late Chaudhary Charan Singh, who had left the Congress, had formed his own party, the Bharatiya Kranti Dal.
His new party was quite popular in the villages of the state. This posed a serious threat to the Jan Sangh’s political calculations. Mr. Vajpayee had sensed this danger. At that time, Chaudhary Charan Singh was 67 years old. Mr. Vajpayee was a master at infusing humor and wit into his political speeches. This was also one of the secrets of his popularity. He was, of course, a powerful orator. After 1967, a coalition government of all opposition parties, led by Chaudhary Charan Singh, was formed in Uttar Pradesh. In this government, the late Jan Sangh leader, Mr. Ram Prakash Gupta (who later became Chief Minister), was the Deputy Chief Minister and Education Minister. Despite this, all the opposition parties were contesting the 1969 mid-term elections separately. In his public meeting, Mr. Vajpayee made a sarcastic remark about the late Chaudhary Charan Singh and his party, saying, “He has grown old now, and <i>now</i> he will bring about a revolution!”
People took this taunt against the 45-year-old Vajpayee quite casually. Mr. Vajpayee then cautioned his party workers that the party wins front-row seats and loses back-row seats. He specifically mentioned this in reference to Najibabad, because in 1962, the late Chaudhary Shriram of the Jan Sangh had won this assembly seat, but the party lost it in 1967. At that time, all the important local leaders of the Jan Sangh were also keen to emphasize Mr. Vajpayee’s youth. In 1969, the president of the Najibabad Jan Sangh was the late Panna Lal Arora. When he introduced Vajpayee at a public meeting, he said, “I present to you our youngest national president.” However, we should keep in mind that the then Jan Sangh high command had devised a strategy to leverage the changing dynamics of national politics in its favor by appointing the young Vajpayee as its national president.
However, before Mr. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, the president of the Jan Sangh was the late Professor Balraj Madhok. Under his leadership, the 1967 general elections were fought, in which the Jan Sangh launched its victorious march, emerging as the second-largest party in North India. In Delhi, it established its rule in everything from the Municipal Corporation to the Metropolitan Council. However, the late Madhok was a fiery-tempered and ardent nationalist. After Mrs. Indira Gandhi came to power at the Centre, national policies were shifting towards liberal socialism. The BJP high command took this changing landscape as a challenge and established the late Vajpayee’s liberal personality as a symbol.
This is why, when Mrs. Indira Gandhi rebelled against the Congress Party in 1969, splitting her party for the first time, and taking a step towards socialism by nationalizing banks and abolishing privy purses for princes and princes, the entire party supported Mr. Vajpayee during the cold war within the Jan Sangh between the late Vajpayee and the late Madhok. Subsequently, Mr. Vajpayee’s political history has been a timely and adaptable one, a characteristic he possessed. The current BJP President, Mr. Nitin Nabin, needs to learn a lot from the late Vajpayee. Most importantly, the BJP’s policies today are steeped in nationalism, so Mr. Nabin will have to make timely decisions in the party’s best interest, adapting to the current circumstances and the current situation. He will have to prove that he is a true supporter of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s policies and Home Minister Amit Shah’s political strategy.
The BJP created a similar political surprise around 1999 when it appointed the late Krishnamurthy of Tamil Nadu as party president. Prior to this, in 1967, the party had surprised political observers by holding the Jan Sangh’s national convention in Calicut, Kerala. While observers themselves are surprised by Mr. Nabin’s appointment, such a move cannot be said to be contrary to the nature of the BJP or the Jan Sangh. By appointing Mr. Nabin as president, the BJP has infused new energy among ordinary party workers and sent the message that if their party can make a tea seller the country’s Prime Minister, it can also make a simple worker and a minister from Bihar the party’s president. The BJP will be successful in conveying this message to the entire country only if Mr. Nabin is able to shape his party’s direction in accordance with the current circumstances.
