Vajpayee’s journey, from poetry to politics
1 min read . Updated: 16 Aug 2018, 10:01 PM IST
PremiumA parliamentarian for 47 years, Atal Bihari Vajpayee was an accomplished writer, penning several books and poems during his lifetime
New Delhi: The son of a school teacher, former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee was born on 25 December 1924 in Gwalior.
â– As an 18-year-old, he joined the Quit India Movement in 1942.
â– In 1951, he joined the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS).
â– He was an accomplished writer, penning several books and poems during his lifetime.
â– Vajpayee was a journalist before being appointed as the political secretary of Shayma Prasad Mookerjee.
â– He entered the Lok Sabha in 1957 after winning the Balrampur seat in UP.
â– Vajpayee remained a member of parliament for 47 years. He was elected 11 times to the Lok Sabha, and twice as a Rajya Sabha member.
â– In 1977, he became the external affairs minister in the Janata Party government.
â– Vajpayee was instrumental in forming the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in 1980.
â– His first term as prime minister in 1996 lasted just 13 days. Two years later, in 1998 he headed the government for 13 months, and then for a full five-year term from 1999.
â– Under him, India successfully carried out the nuclear test, or Operation Shakti, in Pokhran on 13 May, 1998.
â– He started the Delhi-Lahore bus service, Sada-e-Sarhad (Call of the Frontier).
â– The Kargil War with Pakistan broke out during May-July 1999 with Vajpayee as the PM.
â– In 2004, the NDA lost in the general elections and he resigned as the prime minister.
â– Vajpayee announced his retirement from politics at the end of 2005.
â– In 2014, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna. He was also a recipient of the Padma Vibhushan.
Also read: The last photograph of Atal Bihari Vajpayee
