Bharat Ratna LK Advani: 10 Things to Know About the BJP Co-Founder and Former Deputy Prime Minister

Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Lal Krishna Advani (LK Advani) will be conferred with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour. Not many of the present generation know that Advani is one of the founding members of the BJP.

He was the brain behind the Rath Yatra and the Babri Masjid movement in the 1990s that led to fruition in the form of the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya in 2024. LK Advani served as the deputy prime minister of India and had a major contribution to shaping the political agenda of the BJP. 

Here are 10 things to know about LK Advani

1. LK Advani was born on November 8, 1927, in Karachi, Sindh in the pre-Partition Bombay Presidency in British India. He migrated to India from Pakistan during the 1947 Partition.
2. LK Advani is one of the co-founders of the BJP. The party was formed on April 6, 1980, by former members of the Akhil Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS). 
3. Advani is a loyal member of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since 1942 and contributed in a major way towards the Hindutva cause.
4. In 1990, Advani began the first Rath Yatra for the Ram Mandir, a political rally with religious undertones that travelled from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya in Uttar Pradesh.
5. Advani organised many more Rath Yatras across the country from 1993 to 2011 and cemented BJP’s Hindutva philosophy.
6. He served as the Union Minister for Information and Broadcasting from March 1977 to July 1979 in the PM Morarji Desai cabinet. 
7. Advani was the Home Minister in 1998 and 2002 during the BJP-led National Democratic Alliance (NDA) government at the Centre.
8. LK Advani served as the seventh Deputy PM of India from 2002-04, when another BJP’s Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the PM of the country.
9. In 2015, LK Advani was honoured with the Padma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honour.
10. In 2024, LK Advani will be conferred with the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour.

The 96-year-old LK Advani did not attend the historic opening of the Ram Mandir on January 22, 2024 in Ayodhya, due to old age and “extreme cold weather”.

His contribution towards the Ram Mandir and nation-building has not been forgotten. Prime Minister Narendra Modi tweeted on February 3, “I am very happy to share that Shri LK Advani Ji will be conferred the Bharat Ratna. I also spoke to him and congratulated him on being conferred this 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. He distinguished himself as our Home Minister and I&B Minister as well. His Parliamentary interventions have always been exemplary, full of rich insights,” added PM Modi.