The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)’s nonagenarian politician Lal Krishna Advani, better known as LK Advani, has recently been in the news again. LK Advani will be conferred with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. 

Advani, a veteran BJP leader and former deputy prime minister of India, was majorly responsible for the rise of the party at a time. He is the man behind the Rath Yatra and the Babri Masjid movement in the 1990s. Let’s take a look at the major contribution of LK Advani towards the BJP.

LK Advani’s contribution towards the BJP

LK Advani is one of the co-founders of the BJP, a party formed on April 6, 1980, by former members of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS) political party. He is a member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).

In September 1990, Advani began the Ram Rath Yatra, a political rally that travelled from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh and concluded in October 1990. The aim of the rally was to generate support from the nation for the proposed Ram Temple.

The Ram Temple was to be built at the site of Babri Masjid in Ayodhya, the birthplace of Lord Ram. Originally, a temple stood in the place of the Babri Masjid before the 16th century.

Advani was largely responsible for gathering support for the movement, therefore strengthening the position of the party.

After the first Rath Yatra in 1990, over the years, Advani organised more Rath Yatras across the country. These were the Janadesh Yatra in 1993 yatra from Mysore, Karnataka to the rest of South India, the Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra in 1997 to celebrate 50 years of Indian Independence, two Bharat Suraksha Yatras in 2006 from Gujarat to Delhi and Puri to Delhi, and the Jan Chetna Yatra in 2011 in Bihar.

In 2015, LK Advani was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honour.

LK Advani as Deputy PM and Home Minister

From 2002 to 2004, Advani served as the seventh deputy prime minister of India when another BJP veteran, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, was the prime minister of the country. Advani was also the Home Minister in 1998 and 2002 during the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre.

However, his popularity waned during the 2009 General Elections, and he could not gain enough support to help the BJP win.

As younger leaders rose to prominence in the BJP, LK Advani took a backseat. However, his contribution in mobilising support and carving a place for the party remains significant.

LK Advani is likely to attend the historic opening of the Ram Mandir in January 2024 in Ayodhya.