Modi\, Shah greet Advani on his 91st birthday

Advani's birthday: Modi, Shah credit him for taking BJP ideology to masses

The party veteran's impact on Indian politics is immense, Narendra Modi said

Press Trust of India  |  New Delhi 

BJP senior leader Lal Krishna Advani speaks during the former vice-president Late Bhairon Singh Shekhawat's birth anniversary function in Jaipur.
BJP senior leader Lal Krishna Advani

Top leaders, including Prime Minister and party president Amit Shah, Thursday greeted party veteran L K on his 91st birthday, recalling his contribution to politics, and also in building the party and propagating its ideology.

The party veteran's impact on Indian is immense, the prime minister said.

"ji's contribution towards India's development is monumental. His ministerial tenures are applauded for futuristic decision making and people-friendly policies. His wisdom is admired across the political spectrum," Modi wrote on Twitter.

He credited Advani, the longest serving party president and also deputy prime minister in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government, for "selflessly and diligently" building the and "wonderfully" mentoring its workers.

In his tweets, Shah said strengthened the BJP's organisation and inspired its workers while also infusing discipline into them with his lifelong hard work.

"In taking our ideology to the masses from the Jana Sangh to the and in setting India on the path to progress as a skilled politician in Parliament, Advani ji's contribution to Indian is unparalleled," he said.

Jana Sangh, founded in 1951, was the precursor to the Bharatiya Janata Party, which was launched in 1980.

Home Minister and former BJP president Rajnath Singh described Advani as a stalwart of Indian

"He has nurtured the BJP from its inception. Advani ji is an inspiration to millions of party karyakartas (workers). May he be blessed with a good health and long life," Singh said.

Credited for crafting the BJP's rise to a pre-eminent position in late 80s and 90s after it had hit a low of two Lok Sabha seats in 1984 Lok Sabha polls, Advani has been sidelined from the party's affairs and was made a member of 'margdarshak mandal' (group of mentors) in 2014 after it came to power.

The group has, incidentally, never met since its inception.

First Published: Thu, November 08 2018. 13:00 IST