Introduction

Giving Meaning to Leadership

Leadership is something essential to any group or organization. What a leader does is usually very difficult to describe in words. The definition of leadership seems so vague because of the many responsibilities one holds. As difficult as it may seem, there are 3 quite famous ways in giving a definition of leadership, coming from different perspectives.

Leadership is accomplishing tasks through others There are a lot of leaders that have been able to lead their groups towards great accomplishments yet these milestones would not be achieved without the help of every member of the team. It is just only fair to provide a definition of leadership that involves those helping hands. This definition has been emphasized by most modern forms of businesses that focus more on achieving results. Looking back to the past generations, forms of leadership have been changing.

It is never a doubt that leaders of the past use hierarchy and issuance of orders to finish a certain task. But leaders of the modern world have changed that type of leadership and turned it into an investment of trust to their people, having skilled employees coordinate with each other and work together in order to accomplish targets. In most organizations, management styles are usually talked about rather than leadership styles. Aside from this, associating leadership to this kind of style involves ruling out position-less leadership and welcomes the presence of an informal one. The only difference is that in informal leadership, you do not have the conviction of claiming a certain power over your people.

Leadership means having the dominating power over your people Even if we base the definition of leadership to other tribes and animal species, the individual that stands out and is dominant is their leader. This definition simply implies that the leader is meant to have a power over his people, holding the top position for a certain period of time. It also shows that you can always be a leader even without necessarily accomplishing tasks through others. This requires the groups commitment that they will obey the rules of the leader. This kind of leadership does not necessarily require someone to be a relational leader or a good motivator of people. Being a leader just means you are on top.

Leadership is directed to change and a better journey In most cases, it is an intuition that leaders do have the courage to stand up and let themselves be heard. Even if it means great risk, they decide not to conform and promote change instead. This definition of leadership challenges the status quo and gears towards a better world. But the thing here is you dont have to hold a formal appointment to become this type of a leader.

As long as you think that change is needed, then off you go to challenging the status quo. This gives the employees the chance to become leaders even if they dont have the right skills or the authority to take charge.

Let us not forget that leadership should also entail balance between your responsibilities and handling your people for a better outcome.
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Leadership has nothing to do with seniority or ones position in the hierarchy of a company. Too many talk about a companys leadership referring to the senior most executives in the organization. They are just that, senior executives. Leadership doesnt automatically happen when you reach a certain pay grade. Hopefully you find it there, but there are no guarantees. Leadership has nothing to do with titles. Similar to the point above, just because you have a C-level title, doesnt automatically make you a leader. In all of my talks I stress the fact that you dont need a title to lead. In fact, you can be a leader in your place of worship, your neighborhood, in your family, all without having a title. Leadership has nothing to do with personal attributes. Say the word leader and most people thing of a domineering, take-charge charismatic individual. We often think of icons from history like General Patton or President Lincoln. But leadership isnt an adjective. We dont need extroverted charismatic traits to practice leadership. And those with charisma dont automatically lead. Leadership isnt management. This is the big one. Leadership and management are not synonymous. You have 15 people in your downline and P&L responsibility? Good for you, hopefully you are a good manager. Good management isneeded. Managers need to plan, measure, monitor, coordinate, solve, hire, fire, and so many other things. Typically, managers manage things. Leaders lead people. So, again, what is Leadership? Lets see how some of the most respected business thinkers of our time define leadership, and lets consider whats wrong with their definitions. Peter Drucker: The only definition of a leader is someone who has followers. Really? This instance of tautology is so simplistic as to be dangerous. A new Army Captain is put in the command of 200 soldiers. He never leaves his room, or utters a word to the men and women in his unit. Perhaps routine orders are given through a subordinate. By default his troops have to follow orders. Is the Captain really a leader? Commander yes, leader no. Drucker is of course a brilliant thinker of modern business but his definition of leader is too simple. Warren Bennis: Leadership is the capacity to translate vision into reality. Every spring you have a vision for a garden, and with lots of work carrots and tomatoes become a reality. Are you a leader? No, youre a gardener. Bennis definition seems to have forgotten others.

Bill Gates: As we look ahead into the next century, leaders will be those who empower others. This definition includes others and empowerment is a good thing. But to what end? Ive seen many empowered others in my life, from rioting hooligans to Google workers who were so misaligned with the rest of the company they found themselves unemployed. Gates definition lacks the parts about goal or vision. John Maxwell: Leadership is influence nothing more, nothing less. I like minimalism but this reduction is too much. A robber with a gun has influence over his victim. A manager has the power to fire team members which provides a lot of influence. But does this influence make a robber or a manager a leader? Maxwells definition omits the source of influence.

So what is leadership? DEFINITION: Leadership is a process of social influence, which maximizes the efforts of others, towards the achievement of a goal. Leadership is a process of social influence in which one person can enlist the aid and support of others in the accomplishment of a commontask, although there are alternative definitions of leadership. For example, some understand a leader simply as somebody whom people follow, or as somebody who guides or directs others, while others define leadership as "organizing a group of people to achieve a common goal. Studies of leadership have produced theories involving traits,situational interaction, function, behavior, power, vision and values, charisma, and intelligence, among others. Leadership is innate According to some, leadership is determined by distinctive dispositional characteristics present at birth (e.g., extraversion; intelligence; ingenuity). However, according to Forsyth (2009) there is evidence to show that leadership also develops through hard work and careful observation. Thus, effective leadership can result from nature (i.e., innate talents) as well as nurture (i.e., acquired skills). Leadership is possessing power over others Although leadership is certainly a form of power, it is not demarcated by power over people rather, it is a power with people that exists as a reciprocal relationship between a leader and his/her followers (Forsyth, 2009). Despite popular belief, the use of manipulation, coercion, and domination to influence others is not a requirement for leadership. In actuality, individuals who seek group consent and strive to act in the best interests of others can also become effective leaders (e.g., class president; court judge). Leaders are positively influential The validity of the assertion that groups flourish when guided by effective leaders can be illustrated using several examples. For instance, according to Baumeister et al. (1988), the bystander effect (failure to respond
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or offer assistance) that tends to develop within groups faced with an emergency is significantly reduced in groups guided by a leader. Moreover, it has been documented that group performance, creativity, and efficiency all tend to climb in businesses with designated managers or CEOs. However, the difference leaders make is not always positive in nature. Leaders sometimes focus on fulfilling their own agendas at the expense of others, including his/her own followers (e.g., Pol Pot; Josef Stalin). Leaders who focus on personal gain by employing stringent and manipulative leadership styles often make a difference, but usually do so through negative means. Leaders entirely control group outcomes In Western cultures it is generally assumed that group leaders make all the difference when it comes to group influence and overall goal-attainment. Although common, this romanticized view of leadership (i.e., the tendency to overestimate the degree of control leaders have over their groups and their groups outcomes) ignores the existence of many other factors that influence group dynamics. For example, group cohesion, communication patterns among members, individual personality traits, group context, the nature or orientation of the work, as well as behavioral norms and established standards influence group functionality in varying capacities. For this reason, it is unwarranted to assume that all leaders are in complete control of their groups' achievements

Leadership Qualities
Thousands of articles and books have been published describing what it takes to be a superior organizational leader. Some researchers and authors claim a superior leader possesses certain traits or abilities; others say it's all personality. Still others maintain it's the behaviors--not necessarily the intentions or thoughts--that are crucial.

Whatever your viewpoint, it boils down to this: successful leaders share the following characteristics or views: 1. Mission: Leaders know what their mission is. They know why the organization exists. A superior leader has a well thought out (often written) mission describing the purpose of the organization. That purpose need not be esoteric or abstract, but rather descriptive, clear and understandable. Every employee should be able to identify with the mission and strive to achieve it. 2. Vision: Where do you want your organization to go? A vision needs to be abstract enough to encourage people to imagine it but concrete enough for followers to see it, understand it and be willing to climb onboard to fulfill it. 3. Goal: How is the organization going to achieve its mission and vision and how will you measure your progress? Like a vision, goals need to be operational; that is specific and measurable. If your output and results can't be readily measured, then it will be difficult to know if you have achieved your purpose. You may have wasted important resources (time, money, people, and equipment) pursuing a strategy or plan without knowing if it truly succeeded.

4. Competency: You must be seen by your advisors, stakeholders, employees, and the public as being an expert in your field or an expert in leadership. Unless your constituents see you as highly credentialed--either by academic degree or with specialized experience--and capable of leading your company to success, it will be more difficult for you to be as respected, admired, or followed.

Practically speaking, not all executives immediately possess all of the characteristics that spell success. Many leaders learn along the way with hard work. As crises and challenges arise, those at the top of the hierarchy have key opportunities to demonstrate to others that they are in fact, qualified to be leaders. In actuality, greater competency can be achieved as a leader gains more on-the-job experiences. 5. A strong team: Realistically, few executives possess all of the skills and abilities necessary to demonstrate total mastery of every requisite area within the organization. To complement the areas of weakness, a wise leader assembles effective teams of experienced, credentialed, and capable
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individuals who can supplement any voids in the leader's skill set. This ability is what sets leaders apart from others. However, the leader needs to be willing to admit he lacks certain abilities and go about finding trusted colleagues to complement those deficiencies. After building the team, the entrepreneur needs to trust that team to understand issues, create solutions, and to act on them. 6. Communication skills: It does little good to have a strong mission, vision, and goals--and even a solid budget--if the executive cannot easily and effectively convey his ideas to the stakeholders inside and outside of the organization. He must regularly be in touch with key individuals, by email, v-mail, meetings, or other forms of correspondence. Of course, the best way to ensure other people receive and understand the message is with face-to-face interactions.

Getting out of the office or touring different sites is an irreplaceable method of building rapport and sending and receiving messages. "Management By Walking Around," or MBWA, meeting employees at their workstations or conference rooms, or joining them for lunch are just a few of the many effective approaches leaders can use to develop positive contacts with employees. 7. Interpersonal skills: Successful entrepreneurs are comfortable relating to other people; they easily create rapport and are at least more extroverted than they are introverted. These factors help leaders seem approachable, likeable, and comfortable in their position. Those qualities contribute to staff wanting to interact with their leader. They also help motivate employees to do a better job. When workers can relate to their boss, they believe that their boss is more concerned about them, with their performance, and with their output. Furthermore, they believe that they can go to their boss with problems they encounter on the job without fearing consequences for not knowing how to resolve issues.

Not all entrepreneurs are adept at interpersonal skills. Those that aren't, might find it helpful to take a course, choose a mentor or locate a therapist to help them build interpersonal skills. The intangible cost is too high to not improve these abilities. In addition, here's where a strong team comes into play. The less experienced leader who is still learning these skills can rely on the team to get out and to "press the flesh," interact with employees, and spread a positive attitude to help develop morale. 8. A "can do, get it done" attitude: Nothing builds a picture of success more than achievement, and achievement is the number one factor that motivates just about everyone across all cultures. When employees see that their boss can lead and direct, has a clear vision and attainable goals, and actually gains results in a timely manner, then that person's credibility increases throughout the organization. Entrepreneurs must modestly demonstrate their skills to give their constituents valid reasons to appreciate and value their efforts. 9. Inspiration: Quite often, employees need someone to look up to for direction, guidance, and motivation. The entrepreneur needs to be that person. Hopefully, Human Resources has hired self7

motivated individuals. Nevertheless, there are times, when many employees need the boss to inspire them by word or action. Employees need someone to look up to, admire, and follow. Even when the production or delivery of services looks like "it is all going well," the leader may at times need to step in personally to offer a suggestion or encouragement to ensure that employees perform their jobs in an optimal manner. 10. Ambition: Resting on your laurels is bad for employee morale and entrepreneurial credibility. Employees need to be constantly striving for improvement and success; and they need to see the same and more in their leaders. When the boss is seen as someone who works to attain increasingly higher goals, employees will be impressed and more willing to mirror that behavior. It's a win-win for everyone. The basic message in this article is that you as the owner/entrepreneur need to "be out there" for your employees. Continually demonstrate to them why and how you earned the position you now hold. Communicate with them using any of a variety of methods that show them you are worthy of being followed. Make that process inspiring and positive and you can almost guarantee that your results will be consistent with your efforts.

What is political Leadership?

Political leadership is a concept central to understanding political processes and outcomes, yet its definition is elusive. Many disciplines have contributed to the study of leadership, including political theory, history, psychology and management studies. Political Leadership reviews the contributions of these disciplines along with a discussion of the work of classic authors such as Niccolo Machiavelli, Max Weber and Robert Michels. A politician, political leader, or political figure (from Classical Greek "polis") is a person who is involved in influencing public policy and decision making. This includes people who hold decision-making positions in government, and people who seek those positions, whether by means of election, inheritance, coup d'tat, appointment, electoral fraud, conquest, divine right, or other means. Politics is not limited to governance through public office. Political offices may also be held in corporations, and other entities that are governed by self-defined political processes or can be known as freedom fighters.

Leadership Styles A leadership style is a leader's style of providing direction, implementing plans, and motivating people. There are many different leadership styles that can be exhibited by leaders in the political, business or other fields.

Authoritarian
The authoritarian leadership style or autocratic leader keeps strict, close control over followers by keeping close regulation of policy's and procedures given to followers. To keep main emphasis on the distinction of the authoritarian leader and their followers, these types of leaders make sure to only create a distinct professional relationship. Direct supervision is what they believe to be key in maintaining a successful environment and follower ship. In fear of followers being unproductive, authoritarian leaders keep close supervision and feel this is necessary in order for anything to be done. Examples of authoritarian communicative behavior: a police officer directing traffic, a teacher ordering a student to do his or her assignment, and a supervisor instructing a subordinate to clean a workstation. All of these positions require a distinct set of characteristics that give the leader the position to get things in order or get a point across. Authoritarian Traits: sets goals individually, engages primarily in one-way and downward communication, controls discussion with followers,and donates interaction.

Paternalistic Leadership
The way a Paternalistic leader works is by acting as a father figure by taking care of their subordinates as a parent would. In this style of leadership the leader supplies complete concern for his followers or workers. In return he receives the complete trust and loyalty of his people. Workers under this style of leader are expected to become totally committed to what the leader believes and will not strive off and work independently. The relationship between these co-workers and leader are extremely solid. The workers are expected to stay with a company for a longer period of time because of the loyalty and trust. Not only do they treat each other like family inside the work force, but outside too. These workers are able to go to each other with any problems they have regarding something because they believe in what they say is going to truly help them. One of the downsides to a paternalistic leader is that the leader could start to play favorites in decisions. This leader would include the workers more apt to follow and start to exclude the ones who were less loyal. In todays market paternalism is more difficult to come by according to Padavic and Earnest who wrote business dimensional and Organizational Counseling. They believe this because there have become more lay-offs and stronger unionization. This affects paternalistic leaders because the co-workers may not believe that their jobs are 100% ensured. When this happens, workers begin to look for bigger and better job
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opportunities instead of staying at one company for a longer period of time. Because of this, The leader may be thinking that you could be leaving and not fully believe you when you tell them something about a job opportunity. This could put the workers and leader at risk for a bad situation.

Democratic
The democratic leadership style consists of the leader sharing the decision-making abilities with group members by promoting the interests of the group members and by practicing social equality. This style of leadership encompasses discussion, debate and sharing of ideas and encouragement of people to feel good about their involvement. The boundaries of democratic participation tend to be circumscribed by the organization or the group needs and the instrumental value of people's attributes (skills, attitudes, etc.). The democratic style encompasses the notion that everyone, by virtue of their human status, should play a part in the group's decisions. However, the democratic style of leadership still requires guidance and control by a specific leader. The democratic style demands the leader to make decisions on who should be called upon within the group and who is given the right to participate in, make and vote on decisions. Traits of a Good Leader compiled by the Santa Clara University and the Tom Peters Group:

Honest Display sincerity, integrity, and candor in all your actions. Deceptive behavior will not inspire trust. Competent Base your actions on reason and moral principles. Do not make decisions based on childlike emotional desires or feelings. Forward-looking Set goals and have a vision of the future. The vision must be owned throughout the organization. Effective leaders envision what they want and how to get it. They habitually pick priorities stemming from their basic values.

Inspiring Display confidence in all that you do. By showing endurance in mental, physical, and spiritual stamina, you will inspire others to reach for new heights. Take charge when necessary. Intelligent Read, study, and seek challenging assignments. Fair-minded Show fair treatment to all people. Prejudice is the enemy of justice. Display empathy by being sensitive to the feelings, values, interests, and well-being of others. Broad-minded Seek out diversity. Courageous Have the perseverance to accomplish a goal, regardless of the seemingly insurmountable obstacles. Display a confident calmness when under stress. Straightforward Use sound judgment to make a good decisions at the right time. Imaginative Make timely and appropriate changes in your thinking, plans, and methods. Show creativity by thinking of new and better goals, ideas, and solutions to problems. Be innovative!

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Laissez-faire
The laissez-faire leadership style is where all the rights and power to make decisions is fully given to the worker. This was first described by Lewin, Lippitt, and White in 1938, along with the autocratic leadership and the democratic leadership styles. The laissez-faire style is sometimes described as a "hands off" leadership style because the leader delegates the tasks to their followers while providing little or no direction to the followers.If the leader withdraws too much from their followers it can sometimes result in a lack of productivity, cohesiveness, and satisfaction. Laissez-faire leaders allow followers to have complete freedom to make decisions concerning the completion of their work. It allows followers a high degree of autonomy and self-rule, while at the same time offering guidance and support when requested. The laissez-faire leader using guided freedom provides the followers with all materials necessary to accomplish their goals, but does not directly participate in decision making unless the followers request their assistance. This is an effective style to use when:

Followers are highly skilled, experienced, and educated. Followers have pride in their work and the drive to do it successfully on their own. Outside experts, such as staff specialists or consultants are being used. Followers are trustworthy and experienced.

This style should NOT be used when:

Followers feel insecure at the unavailability of a leader. The leader cannot or will not provide regular feedback to their followers.

Transactional
The transactional style of leadership was first described by Max Weber in 1947 and then later described by Bernard Bass in 1981. Mainly used by management, transactional leaders focus their leadership on motivating followers through a system of rewards and punishments. There are two factors which form the basis for this system, Contingent Reward and management-by-exception.

Contingent Reward Provides rewards, materialistic or psychological, for effort and recognizes good performance.
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Management-by-Exception allows the leader to maintain the status quo. The leader intervenes when subordinates do not meet acceptable performance levels and initiates corrective action to improve performance. Management by exception helps reduce the workload of managers being that they are only called-in when workers deviate from course.

This type of leader identifies the needs of their followers and gives rewards to satisfy those needs in exchange of certain level of performance. Transactional leaders focus on increasing the efficiency of established routines and procedures. They are more concerned with following existing rules than with making changes to the organization. A transactional leader establishes and standardizes practices that will help the organization reaches,

Maturity Goal-setting Efficiency of operation Increasing productivity.

Transactional leadership style effect on work teams In a survey done by Jun Liu, Xiaoyu Liu and Xianju Zeng on the correlation of Transactional leadership and how innovations can be affected by team emotions. The research was composed of 90 work teams, with a total of 460 members and 90 team leaders. The study found that there is a relationship between emotions, labor behavior and trasactional leadership that affect for the team. Depending on the level of emotions of the team; this can affect the transactional leader in a positive or negative way. Transactional leaders work better in teams where there is a lower level of emotions going into the project. This is because individuals are able to

Think freely when setting their emotions aside from their work. Have all of their focus on the given task.

A transactional leader is: 1. Negatively affected when the emotional level is high. 2. Positively affected when the emotional level is low. Transactional leadership presents a form of strategic leadership that is important for the organizations development. Transactional leadership is essential for team innovativeness.

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Transformational
A transformational leader is a type of person in which the leader is not limited by his or her followers' perception. The main objective is to work to change or transform his or her followers' needs and redirect their thinking. Leaders that follow the transformation style of leading, challenge and inspire their followers with a sense of purpose and excitement.[10]They also create a vision of what they aspire to be, and communicate this idea to others (their followers). According to Schultz and Schultz, there are three identified characteristics of a transfomational leader:

Charismatic leadership has a broad knowledge of field, has a self-promoting personality, high/great energy level, and willing to take risk and use irregular strategies in order to stimulate their followers to think independently

Individualized consideration Intellectual stimulation

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Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Early life and education
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born to Krishna Devi and Krishna Bihari Vajpayee on 25 December 1924 in a middle-class Brahmin family inGwalior. His grandfather, Pandit Shyam Lal Vajpayee, had migrated to Gwalior from his ancestral village of Bateshwar, Uttar Pradesh. His father, Krishna Bihari Vajpayee, was a poet and a schoolmaster in his hometown. Vajpayee did his schooling from the Saraswati Shishu Mandir, Gorkhi, Bara, Gwalior. Vajpayee attended Gwalior's Victoria College (now Laxmi Bai College) and graduated with distinction in Hindi, English and Sanskrit. He completed his post-graduation with an M.A. in Political Science from DAV College, Kanpur, in first-class. Later he became a full-time worker of the Hindu nationalist organisation Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS). For a while Vajpayee studied law, but midstream he chose to become a journalist. This choice was largely influenced by the fact that as a student he had been an activist in India's struggle for freedom. He edited Rashtradharma (a Hindi monthly), Panchjanya (a Hindi weekly) and the dailies Swadesh and Veer Arjun. Like many full-time workers of the Sangh, Vajpayee never married and remained a bachelor his entire life.

Early political career (1942-1975)

Vajpayee's first exposure to politics was in August 1942, when he and his elder brother Prem were arrested for 23 days during the Quit India movement. In 1951, he was deputed to work for the newly formed Bharatiya Jana Sangh, a right-wing political party associated with the RSS that espoused the Hindu cause. He soon became a follower and aide of party leader Syama Prasad Mookerjee. In 1954, Vajpayee was with Mookerjee when he went on a fast-untodeath in Kashmir to protest against perceived inferior treatment of non-Kashmiri Indian visitors to the state. Mookerjee died in prison during this strike. In 1957, Vajpayee was elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's Parliament, from Balrampur. There, his oratorial skills so impressed Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru that he predicted that Vajpayee would someday become India's Prime Minister. By virtue of his oratorical and organizational skills, he became the face of the Jana Sangh. After the tragic death of Deendayal Upadhyaya, the mantle of the leadership of Jana Sangh fell on the shoulders of a young Vajpayee. He became the national president of the Jana Sangh in 1968 and, along with Nanaji Deshmukh, Balraj Madhok and Lal Krishna Advani, led the Jana Sangh to national prominence.

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The former prime Minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee is one of the most revered personalities in the post independent political life of the country. He has been centre of attraction for his followers and opponents equally. Many ideologically opponents praised his political , social and humanitarian philosophy of life. There is hardly any media person in the country who dislikes Vajpayee. It is a great lesson for the politicians of the country who are now engaged in bitter tongue war. Vajpayee began his public career as a journalist. He was associated with one national daily "Veer Arjun" published from Delhi. Veteran journalist K Narendra was its editor. In early's 50's it was a popular daily. Vajpayee had served the paper as an assistant editor in early 50's before he joined hand with Dr Shyama Prasad Mookerjee. Although the paper lost its vigour, popularity and circulation to the extent that it is hardly seen on newspaper stands, Vajpayee's first love continues to dominate on his psyche. when he was the Prime Minister , Veer Arjun was a part of his selected newspapers which he essentially used to read. even now, when he is recovering from his illness , this paper is a part of reading material. with such a rich legacy will Anil Narendra , the editor and publisher of the paper introspect why did the paper decline? In the Hindi journalism there is no newspaper which can confront the secularist ideology, propaganda based news reporting and highly prejudiced editorial writings. It is both an opportunity as well as a challenge for the publisher of the Veer Arjun to resurrect it and replay its historic role. Will he do it ?

Atal Ji's Family

Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born to Smt Krishna Devi and Shri Krishna Bihari Vajpayee on 25 December 1924 in a Brahmin family. His birthplace was Shinde Ki Chhavani, a town in the Gwalior district of Madhya Pradesh (then known as Central Province). Vajpayee's grandfather, Pandit Shyam Lal Vajpayee, had migrated to Gwalior from his ancestral village of Bateshwar, Uttar Pradesh. Vajpayee's father, Krishna Bihari ji, was a poet and a school teacher in his hometown. Vajpayee ji never married, becoming the first and, to date, only bachelor Prime Minister of India.

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Positions Held

1951 - Founder-Member, Bharatiya Jana Sangh (B.J.S) 1957 - Elected to 2nd Lok Sabha 1957-77 - Leader, Bharatiya Jana Sangh Parliamentary Party 1962 - Member, Rajya Sabha 1966-67- Chairman, Committee on Government Assurances 1967 - Re-elected to 4th Lok Sabha (2nd term) 1967-70 - Chairman, Public Accounts Committee 1968-73 - President, B.J.S. 1971 - Re-elected to 5th Lok Sabha (3rd term) 1977 - Re-elected to 6th Lok Sabha (4th term) 1977-79 - Union Cabinet Minister, External Affairs 1977-80 - Founder- Member, Janata Party 1980 - Re-elected to 7th Lok Sabha (5th term) 1980-86- President, Bharatiya Janata Party (B.J.P.) 1980-84, 1986 and 1993-96 - Leader, B.J.P. Parliamentary Party 1986 - Member, Rajya Sabha; Member, General Purposes Committee 1988-90 - Member, House Committee; Member, Business Advisory Committee 1990-91- Chairman, Committee on Petitions 1991- Re-elected to 10th Lok Sabha (6th term) 1991-93 - Chairman, Public Accounts Committee 1993-96 - Chairman, Committee on External Affairs; Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha 1996 - Re-elected to 11th Lok Sabha (7th term) 16 May 1996 - 31 May 1996 - Prime Minister of India; Minister of External Affairs and also incharge of Ministries/Departments of Chemicals and Fertilizers, Civil Supplies, Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution, Coal, Commerce, Communications, Environment and Forests, Food Processing Industries, Human Resource Development, Labour, Mines, Non-Conventional Energy Sources, Personnel, Public Grievances and Pension, Petroleum and Natural Gas, Planning and Programme Implementation, Power, Railways, Rural Areas and Employment, Science and Technology, Steel, Surface Transport, Textiles, Water Resources,Atomic Energy, Electronics, Jammu & Kashmir Affairs, Ocean Development, Space and other subjects not allocated to any other Cabinet Minister

1996-97 - Leader of Opposition, Lok Sabha 1997-98 - Chairman, Committee on External Affairs 1998 - Re-elected to 12th Lok Sabha (8th term)
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1998-99 - Prime Minister of India; Minister of External Affairs; and also incharge of Ministries/Department not specifically allocated to the charge of any Minister

1999- Re-elected to 13th Lok Sabha (9th term) 13 Oct.1999 to 13 May 2004- Prime Minister of India and also in charge of the Ministries/Departments not specifically allocated to the charge of any Minister

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Quotes

Global interdependence today means that economic disasters in developing countries could create a backlash on developed countries. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

In the euphoria after the Cold War, there was a misplaced notion that the UN could solve every problem anywhere. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

No state should be allowed to profess partnership with the global coalition against terror, while continuing to aid, abet and sponsor terrorism. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Our nuclear weapons are meant purely as a deterrent against nuclear adventure by an adversary. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

People who ask us when we will hold talks with Pakistan are perhaps not aware that over the last 55 years, every initiative for a dialogue with Pakistan has invariably come from India. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

Poverty is multidimensional. It extends beyond money incomes to education, health care, political participation and advancement of one's own culture and social organisation. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

The Bio-diversity Convention has not yielded any tangible benefits to the world's poor. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

The overwhelming public sentiment in India was that no meaningful dialogue can be held with Pakistan until

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it abandons the use of terrorism as an instrument of its foreign policy. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

The reality is that international institutions like the UN can only be as effective as its members allow it to be. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

The UN's unique legitimacy flows from a universal perception that it pursues a larger purpose than the interests of one country or a small group of countries. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

There was an implicit conviction that the UN would be stronger than the sum of its constituent memberstates. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

We believe that the United States and the rest of the international community can play a useful role by exerting influence on Pakistan to put a permanent and visible end to cross-border terrorism against India. Atal Bihari Vajpayee

We hope the world will act in the spirit of enlightened self-interest. Atal Bihari Vajpayee You can change friends but not neighbours.

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Atal Bihari Vajpayee - Political Career

Elected leader of the National Democratic Alliance, which is a pre-election coming together of political parties from different regions of the country and which enjoyed a comfortable backing and support of the elected Members of the 13th Lok Sabha, Shri Vajpayee was earlier elected leader of his own Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) parliamentary party which has also again emerged as the single largest party in the 13th Lok Sabha as was the case in the 12th Lok Sabha. Educated at Victoria (now Laxmi Bai) College, Gwalior and DAV College, Kanpur, Uttar Pradesh, Shri Vajpayee holds an M.A (Political Science) degree and has many literary, artistic and scientific accomplishments to his credit. He edited Rashtradharma (a Hindi monthly), Panchjanya (a Hindi weekly) and the dailies Swadesh and Veer Arjun. His published works include "Meri Sansadiya Yatra" (in four volumes), "Meri Ikkyavan Kavitayen", "Sankalp Kaal", "Shakti-se-Shanti", "Four Decades in Parliament" (speeches in three volumes), 1957-95, "Lok Sabha mein Atalji" (a collection of speeches); Mrityu Ya Hatya", "Amar Balidan", "Kaidi Kaviraj Ki Kundalian" (a collection of poems written in jail during Emergency); "New Dimensions of India's Foreign Policy" (a collection of speeches delivered as External Affairs Minister during 1977-79); "Jan Sangh Aur Mussalman"; "Sansad Mein Teen Dashak" (Hindi) (speeches in Parliament - 1957-1992 - three volumes; and "Amar Aag Hai" (a collection of poems) 1994. Shri Vajpayee has participated in various social and cultural activities. He has been a Member of the National Integration Council since 1961. Some of his other associations include - (i) President, All India Station Masters and Assistant Station Masters Association (1965-70); (ii) Pandit Deendayal Upadhyay Smarak Samiti (1968-84); (iii) Deen Dayal Dham, Farah, Mathura, U.P; and (iv) Janmabhomi Smarak Samiti, 1969 onwards. Founder-member of the erstwhile Jana Sangh (1951), President, Bharatiya Jana Sangh (1968-1973), leader of the Jana Sangh parliamentary party (1955-1977) and a founder-member of the Janata Party (1977-1980), Shri Vajpayee was President, BJP (1980-1986) and the leader of BJP parliamentary party during 1980-1984, 1986 and 1993-1996. He was Leader of the Opposition throughout the term of the 11th Lok Sabha. Earlier, he was India's External Affairs Minister in the Morarji Desai Government from March 24, 1977 to July 28, 1979. Widely respected within the country and abroad as a statesman of the genre of Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru, Shri Vajpayee's 1998-99 stint as Prime Minister has been characterised as 'one year of courage of conviction'. It was during this period that India entered a select group of nations following a series of successful nuclear tests at Pokharan in May 1998. The bus journey to Pakistan in February 1999 was widely acclaimed for starting a new era of negotiations to resolve the outstanding problems of the sub-continent. India's honesty
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made an impact on the world community. Later, when this gesture of friendship turned out to be a betrayal of faith in Kargil, Shri Vajpayee was also hailed for his successful handling of the situation in repulsing back the intruders from the Indian soil. It was during Shri Vajpayee's 1998-99 tenure that despite a global recession, India achieved 5.8 per cent GDP growth, which was higher than the previous year. Higher agricultural production and increase in foreign exchange reserves during this period were indicative of a forward-looking economy responding to the needs of the people. "We must grow faster. We simply have no other alternative" has been Shri Vajpayee's slogan focussing particularly on economic empowerment of the rural poor. The bold decisions taken by his Government for strengthening rural economy, building a strong infrastructure and revitalising the human development programmes, fully demonstrated his Government's commitment to a strong and self-reliant nation to meet the challenges of the next millennium to make India an economic power in the 21st century. Speaking from the ramparts of the Red Fort on the occasion of 52nd Independence Day, he had said, "I have a vision of India : an India free of hunger and fear, an India free of illiteracy and want." Shri Vajpayee has served on a number of important Committees of Parliament. He was Chairman, Committee on Government Assurances (1966-67); Chairman, Public Accounts Committee (1967-70); Member, General Purposes Committee (1986); Member, House Committee and Member, Business Advisory Committee, Rajya Sabha (1988-90); Chairman, Committee on Petitions, Rajya Sabha (1990-91); Chairman, Public Accounts Committee, Lok Sabha (1991-93); Chairman, Standing Committee on External Affairs (1993-96). Shri Vajpayee participated in the freedom struggle and went to jail in 1942. He was detained during Emergency in 1975-77. Widely travelled, Shri Vajpayee has been taking a keen interest in international affairs, upliftment of Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, women and child welfare. Some of his travels abroad include visits such as - Member, Parliamentary Goodwill Mission to East Africa, 1965; Parliamentary Delegation to Australia, 1967; European Parliament, 1983; Canada, 1987; Indian delegation to Commonwealth Parliamentary Association meetings held in Canada, 1966 and 1994, Zambia, 1980, Isle of Man 1984, Indian delegation to Inter-Parliamentary Union Conference, Japan, 1974; Sri Lanka, 1975; Switzerland, 1984; Indian Delegation to the UN General Assembly, 1988, 1990, 1991, 1992, 1993 and 1994; Leader, Indian Delegation to the Human Rights Commission Conference, Geneva, 1993.

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SHRI ATAL BIHARI VAJPAYEE THE PM

First Term: May 1996

Political energy and expansion made BJP the single-largest political party in the Lok Sabha elected in 1996. Asked to form the government, A.B. Bajpai was sworn in as Prime Minister, but the BJP failed to gather enough support from other parties to form a majority. Bajpai resigned after just 13 days, when it became clear that he could not garner a majority.

Second Term: 1998-1999

After the fall of two governments by the third-front between 1996 and 1998, the Parliament was dissolved and fresh elections were held. These elections again put the BJP at the head. This time, a cohesive bloc of political parties lined up with it to form the National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and A.B. Bajpai was sworn in as the Prime Minister. The NDA proved its majority in parliament. Towards the end of 1998 however, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) under J. Jayalalitha withdrew its support from the 13-month old government. The government lost the ensuing vote of confidence motion by a single vote. As the Opposition was unable to come up with the numbers to form the new government, the country returned to elections with Bajpai remaining the "care-taker Prime Minister".

Nuclear bomb testing

In May 1998, India conducted five underground nuclear tests in Pokhran, Rajasthan. The five tests shocked and surprised the world, especially considering that the government had been in power for only a month. Two weeks later, Pakistan responded with its own nuclear weapon tests, making it the newest declared nation with nuclear weapons. While some nations, such as Russia and France, endorsed India's right to defensive nuclear power, others including the US, Canada, Japan, the UK and the European Union imposed sanctions on the sale of military equipment and high-tech scientific information, resources and technology to India or Pakistan. In spite of the intense international criticism and the steady decline in foreign investment and trade, the nuclear tests were popular domestically and the Bajpai's popularity and the BJP's prestige rose
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in response. During his administration, Bajpai introduced many important economic and infrastructural reforms domestically including, encouraging the private sector and foreign investments; reducing governmental waste; encouraging research and development and privatizing of some government owned corporations.

The Lahore summit

In late 1998 and early 1999, Bajpai began a push for a full-scale diplomatic peace process with Pakistan. With the historic inauguration of the Delhi-Lahore bus service in February 1999, The NDA proved its majority in parliament. Towards the end of 1998 however, the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) under J. Jayalalitha withdrew its support from the 13-month old government. Bajpai initiated a new peace process aimed towards permanently resolving the Kashmir dispute and other

territorial/nuclear/strategic conflicts with Pakistan. The resultant Lahore Declaration espoused a commitment to dialogue, expanded trade relations and the goal of denuclearized South Asia, and mutual friendship. This eased the tension created by the 1998 nuclear tests, not only within the two nations, but also in South Asia and the rest of the world. The Bajpai led government was faced with two crises in mid-1999. The AIADMK party had continually threatened to withdraw support from the coalition and national leaders repeatedly flew down from Delhi to Chennai to pacify the AIADMK chief J. Jayalalitha. Finally, in May 1999, the AIADMK did pull the plug on the NDA, and the Bajpai administration was reduced to a caretaker status pending fresh elections scheduled for October.

Kargil invasion

More importantly and soon after, it was revealed that millitants and non-uniformed Pakistani soldiers (many with official identifications and Pakistan Army's custom weaponry) had infiltrated into the Kashmir Valley and captured control of border hilltops, unmanned border posts and were spreading out fast. The incursion was centered around the town of Kargil, but also included the Batalik and Akhnoor sectors and include artillery exchanges at the Siachen Glacier. Indian army units were rushed into Kashmir in response. Operation Vijay (1999), launched in June 1999, saw the Indian military fighting thousands of militants and soldiers amidst heavy artillery shelling and while facing extremely cold weather, snow and treacherous terrain at the high altitude. Over 500 Indian soldiers were killed in the three-month long Kargil War, and it is estimated around 600-4000 Pakistani militants and soldiers died as well. India pushed back the Pakistani militants and Northern Light Infantry soldiers. Almost 70% of the territory was recaptured by India. With
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news of Pakistan planning to launch a nuclear attack or a nuclear threat in the face of a lost war with India, Nawaz Sharif was summoned to the US by Bill Clinton. Pakistan's army claims to have shot down 2 air force jets and the Indian Air Force acknowledged one loss to enemy missiles and attributed the other loss to engine flameout. The mutilation of the body of pilot Ajay Ahuja inflamed public opinion in India. After heavy losses and a recalcitrant general in Musharraf, and with both the United States and China refusing to condone the incursion or threaten India to stop its military operations, Pakistan's Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif asked the remaining militants to stop and withdraw to positions along the LoC. The militants were not willing to accept orders from Nawaz Sharif while the NLI soldiers withdrew. The militants were killed by the army or forced to withdraw in skirmishes which went beyond the announcement of withdrawal by Pakistan.

Third Term: 1999-2004

On 13 October 1999, Atal Bihari Vajpayee took oath as Prime Minister of India for the third time. The BJPled NDA had won 303 seats in the 543 seat Lok Sabha in the aftermath of Kargil operations,thereby securing a comfortable, stable majority. The coalition government that was formed lasted its full term of 5 years the only non-Congress government to do so.

National Highways Development Project, foreign policy and economic reform

Vajpayee oversaw his National Highway Development Project and Pradhan Mantri Gram Sadak Yojana begin construction, in which he took a personal interest. In March 2000, Bill Clinton, the President of the United States, paid a state visit to India. His was the first state visit to India by a US President in 22 years. President Clinton's visit to India was hailed as a significant milestone in the relations between the two countries. Since the visit followed barely two years after the Pokhran tests, and one year after the Kargil invasion and the subsequent coup in Pakistan, it was read to reflect a major shift in the post-Cold War U.S. foreign policy. The Indian Prime Minister and the U.S. President discussed strategic issues, but the chief achievement was a significant expansion in trade and economic ties. Historic Vision Document on the future course of relations between the two countries was signed by Prime Minister Vajpayee and President Clinton during the visit. Domestically, the BJP-led government was under constant pressure from its ideological mentor, the RSS, and the hard-line VHP to enact the Hindutva agenda. But owing to its dependence on coalition support, it was impossible for the BJP to push items like building the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir in Ayodhya, repealing Article 370 which gave a special status to the state of Kashmir, or enacting a uniform
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civil code applicable to adherents of all religions. The BJP was however accused of saffron-ising (saffron is the color of the flag of the RSS, symbol of the Hindu nationalism movement) the official state education curriculum and apparatus. Home Minister L.K. Advani and HRD minister Murli Manohar Joshi were indicted in the 1992 Babri Mosque demolition case for inciting the mob of activists. The RSS also routinely criticized the government for free-market policies which introduced foreign goods and competition at the expense of home industries and products. Vajpayee's administration earned the ire of many unionized workers groups and government workers for their aggressive campaign to privatize government owned corporations. Vajpayee promoted pro-business, free market reforms to reinvigorate India's economic transformation and expansion that were started by former PM Narasimha Rao but stalled after 1996 due to unstable governments and the 1997 Asian financial crisis. Increased competitiveness, extra funding and support for the information technology and high-tech industries, improvements in infrastructure, deregulation of trade, investments and corporate laws - all increased foreign capital investment and set in motion an economic expansion. These couple of years of reform however were accompanied by infighting in the administration and confusion regarding the direction of government. Cabinet portfolios were created and shuffled every six months apparently to pacify restless coalition partners. Vajpayee's weakening health was also a subject of public interest, and he underwent a major knee-replacement surgery at the Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai to relieve great pressure on his legs. In March 2001, the Tehelka group released incriminating videos of the BJP President Bangaru Laxman, senior army officers and NDA members accepting bribes from journalists posing as agents and businessmen. While the scandals were not linked to Vajpayee personally, the Defence Minister George Fernandes was forced to resign following this Barak Missile Deal Scandal, another scandal involving the botched supplies of coffins for the soldiers killed in Kargil, and the finding of an inquiry commission that the Government could have prevented the Kargil invasion. These developments as well as an ambiguous response of the economy to the reforms, reduced the Vajpayee administration's popularity and undermined its future. Vajpayee again broke the ice in the IndoPak relations by inviting Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf to Delhi and Agra for a joint summit and peace talks. His second-major attempt to move beyond the stalemate tensions involved inviting the man who had planned the Kargil invasions, but accepting him as the President of Pakistan, Vajpayee chose to move forward. But after three days of much fanfare, which included Musharraf visiting his birthplace in Delhi, the summit failed to achieve a breakthrough as President Musharraf declined to leave aside the issue of Kashmir. In 2001, the Vajpayee government launched the Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, which aimed at improving the quality of education in primary and secondary schools.

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Remainder of term

In late 2002 and 2003 the government pushed economic reforms, and the country's GDP growth accelerated at record levels, exceeding 6-7%. Increasing foreign investment, modernization of public and industrial infrastructure, the creation of jobs, a rising high-tech and IT industry and urban modernization and expansion improved the nation's national image. Good crop harvests and strong industrial expansion also helped the economy. The Government reformed the tax system, increased the pace of reforms and probusiness initiatives, major irrigation and housing schemes and so on. The political energies of the BJP shifted to the rising urban middle-class and young people, who were positive and enthusiastic about the major economic expansion and future of the country. In August 2003, Prime Minister Vajpayee announced before Parliament his "absolute last" effort to achieve peace with Pakistan. Although the diplomatic process never truly set-off immediately, visits were exchanged by high-level officials and the military stand-off ended. The Pakistani President and Pakistani politicians, civil and religious leaders hailed this initiative as did the leaders of America, Europe and much of the world. In July 2003, Prime Minister Vajpayee, visited China, and met with various Chinese leaders. He recognized Tibet, as a part of China, which was reacted to positively, by the Chinese leadership, who the following year, recognized Sikkim, as a part of India. SinoIndian Relations, improved greatly, in the following years. In NovemberDecember 2003, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won three major state elections, fought mainly on development issues, without ideological campaigns. A major public relations campaign was launched to reach out to Muslims and stop the 2002 controversies from haunting the party's future. But the attention of the media and of millions now moved from Vajpayee to his more possible successor, L.K. Advani, although the question was never directly raised or contested in any way. Vajpayee's age, failing health and diminished physical and mental vigor were obvious factors in such speculations. Advani assumed greater responsibilities in the party, and although no perceivable conflict has been known to arise between the longtime friends and political colleagues, several embarrassing statements were made. Once Vajpayee said "Advani would lead the BJP in the elections," prompting Advani to clarify that he would merely lead the election campaign, not the party. And then the BJP President Venkaiah Naidu used mythological references to depict Vajpayee as a Vikas Purush, (Man of Progress), comparing him to Bhishma Pitamah of the Mahabharata epic, a man respected by all political outfits and hundreds of millions of people. As the BJP prepared for general elections in 2004, Vajpayee was still the choice of the BJP, and crucially of the wider NDA, for the Prime Minister's job.

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Atal Bihari Vajpayee - Awards & Recognitions

Shri Vajpayee was conferred Padma Vibhushan in 1992 in recognition of his services to the nation. He was also conferred the Lokmanya Tilak Puruskar and the Bharat Ratna Pt. Govind Ballabh Pant Award for the Best Parliamentarian, both in 1994. Earlier, the Kanpur University honoured him with an Honorary Doctorate of Philosophy in 1993. Well known and respected for his love for poetry and as an eloquent speaker, Shri Vajpayee is known to be a voracious reader. He is fond of Indian music and dance.

The Rise Of The BJP

Morarji Desai resigned as Prime Minister in 1979, and the Janata Party was dissolved soon after. The Bharatiya Jana Sangh had devoted its political organization to sustain the coalition, and was left exhausted by the internecine political wars within the Janata Party. Atal Bihari Vajpayee joined many BJS and Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) colleagues, particularly his long-time and close friends Lal Krishna Advani and Bhairon Singh Shekhawat, to found the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1980. Vajpayee was made the BJP's first President, and became a strong critic of the Congress (I) government that followed the rule of the Janata Party. While the BJP opposed the Sikh militancy that was rising in the state of Punjab, it also blamed Prime Minister Indira Gandhi for divisive and corrupt politics that fostered such militancy at expense of the nation. Leader Darasingh opines that Vajpayee thus "brought in Hindu-Sikh harmony."[9] The BJP did not support Operation Bluestar, and strongly protested against the violence towards Sikhs in Delhi that broke out in 1984 following the assassination of Indira Gandhi by two of her Sikh bodyguards. During this bloody period, more than 3,000 Sikhs were massacred. Vajpayee was commended for protecting Sikhs against Indian National Congress supporters seeking to avenge the death of Gandhi.[citation needed] The BJP was left with only two parliamentary seats in the 1984 elections; however, the party had established itself in the mainstream of Indian politics, and soon began expanding its organization to attract young Indians throughout the country. During this period, Vajpayee remained center-stage as party President and Leader of the Opposition in Parliament. The BJP became the political voice of the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Movement, which was led by activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the RSS, and which sought to build a temple dedicated to Rama at the site of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. Hindu activists believed the site was the birthplace of Rama, and thus qualified as one of the most sacred sites of Hinduism. Victory in the assembly elections in Gujarat and Maharashtra in March 1995, and a good performance in the
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elections to the Karnataka assembly in December 1994, propelled the BJP to greater political prominence. During a BJP conference in Mumbai in November 1995, BJP President L.K. Advani declared that Vajpayee would be the Prime Minister of India if the BJP won May 1996 parliamentary elections.

Later Career
In December 2005, Vajpayee announced his retirement from active politics, declaring that he would not participate in the next general election. At a rally in the western city of Mumbai, Vajpayee said "I will not participate in any electoral politics. There are many other leaders to take forward the work which I and other senior leaders have been doing. In a now famous statement at the BJP's silver Jubilee rally at Mumbai's historic Shivaji Park, Vajpayee announced that "from now onwards, Lal Krishna Advani and Pramod Mahajan will be the Ram-Laxman (the two godly brothers much revered and worshipped by Hindus) of the BJP." Vajpayee was referred to as The Bhishma Pitamah of Indian Politics by Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh during his speech in the Rajya Sabha. Vajpayee was hospitalized at AIIMS for chest infection and fever and on 6 February 2009 he was put on ventilator as his conditioned worsened. It may be noted that at 84, he does not have diabetes or high blood pressure and he is on one kidney for the past 25 years.Vajpayee underwent several knee replacement surgeries during the 90's.Unable to participate in the campaign for the 2009 general election due to his health, he wrote a letter urging voters in his Lucknow constituency to back BJP candidate Lalji Tandon. Finally Lalji Tandon was able to retain the Lucknow seat of Vajpayee even though NDA suffered electoral reverses in that state by just managing to win 15 of the total 80 seats. The tall apolitical image of Vajpayee was said to be the main reason behind Lalji's success in Lucknow even though BJP's position was poor in Uttar Pradesh.

Vajpayee-Advani Duo
Through the 90s and the first few years of the 21st century, the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-LK Advani combination steered the BJP to heights it had never before witnessed. Their political relationship provided stability, continuity, experience and authority to a party that was beginning even then, to severely lack a solid second-rung. As Advani himself acknowledged, rarely do two political leaders share such a bond, a working relationship that allows them both to thrive and grow without disturbing the fine balance of that bond. Vajpayee, the poet-Prime Minister and Advani as his able and trusted lieutenant, brought depth and gravity to the BJP leadership. It still is, and will be in many ways, the gold standard to which the BJP will hold itself for many years to come.
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Awards

1992, Padma Vibhushan 1993, D.Lit from Kanpur University 1994, Lokmanya Tilak Award 1994, Best Parliamentarian Award 1994, Bharat Ratna Pandit Govind Vallabh Pant Award

One of the Speeches

Saturday, 15 April 2000 The BJP has reached its present strength as a result of our collective efforts. We have seen many joys which have been preceded by many a tears, sweat and at times even blood of our cadres. We have entered a crucial stage of our journey. Our acceptability has improved - it will improve further. This is because we are different and we speak a language which strikes a card with the people. We must Endeavour to maintain our distinctiveness as a party. Our political behavior will determine this. The crucial question we face is `what after this political success?' We are in power in the Centre and several States. We have to concentrate on improving the quality of governance. The governance must concentrate on serving the people and keeping national interests paramount. Our success has resulted in our opponents adopting an unpredictable behaviour. We have also been in opposition for a very long time, but we have never stooped so low. The kind and quality of the language used by some leaders on the issue of Constitution review has acquired a new low. But we must maintain a dignified posture. We must endeavour to raise the level of debate on this issue. The debate must be constitutional and not provocative as some opposition leaders are indulging in. The Congress has adopted political negativism from Pokharan to Kargil. What the Congress party delegation told President Clinton was misinformed to the nation. The Congress party delegation told President Clinton that India needed a minimum nuclear deterrent. The Congress spokesman informed the media of this. Later the party denied having ever said this. Petty political considerations resulted in this political somersault. But we should not allow ourselves to be bogged down by these unnecessary controversies. We have to look ahead and deliver resultsto the people and the nation. This is a joint responsibility of all NDA partners. All the NDA allies have a very co-operative attitude. I am getting the best of co-operation from our allies. We must be very careful about all our statements to the press. We must resist the temptation of speaking out too
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frequently. I have read some report on cricket betting. The Government has no proposal to legalize betting. We are all for eliminating this menace. All functionaries in the Government and the party must be particularly careful and sensitive when we speak on issues relating to the minorities. We must ensure that the programmes get the support of the party and we endeavor to carry all sections of the society with us in this task which we have undertaken

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REFERENCES AND BIBLIOGRAPHY

http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/204248#ixzz2hy5dHVT3

http://www.authorstream.com
http://www.atalbiharivajpayee.in/aboutvajpayeeji.aspx

http://www.atalbiharivajpayee.in/ThePM.aspx#sthash.ZH3KsHWR.dpuf http://www.atalbiharivajpayee.in/aboutvajpayeeji.aspx#sthash.RE08U8Py www.google.com www.wikipedia.com

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