BJP leaders greet Advani, party's longest serving president, on birthday

New Delhi: BJP leaders on Tuesday greeted L K Advani, considered the architect of the party’s rise as a major national force in the 90s, on his birthday.

Advani, the BJP’s longest-serving president, turned 95 on Tuesday.

Home Minister Amit Shah said Advani, with his relentless efforts, strengthened the party organisation across the country and also made invaluable contribution to the country’s development while being part of the government.

Shah wished him good health and a long life.

Union minister Nitin Gadkari called Advani a source of inspiration.

Another Union minister Rajnath Singh said Advani has made a very important contribution to the country, society and the party and is counted among the country’s tallest personalities.

Born in 1927 in Karachi, now part of Pakistan, Advani joined the RSS at a young age and later worked for Jana Sangh where he made a mark with his organisational abilities.

He was a founding member of the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980 and was its face along with former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee for several decades. A keen strategist, Advani’s ‘Rath Yatra’ in 1990 in support of building the Ram temple in Ayodhya at a site believed to be the birthplace of Lord Ram is seen as an epochal turn in national politics, marking the unstoppable rise of the party to power.

While Vajpayee, the popular face of the party who enjoyed acceptability beyond its support base, became prime minister, Advani was home minister. He became deputy prime minister later.