Bharatiya Janata Party Celebrates Veteran Leader Lal Krishna Advani Entering 100th Year

The Bharatiya Janata Party celebrated the birthday of party veteran and former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani on Sunday as he entered the 100th year of his life.

Coinciding with Diwali, party leaders gathered at the BJP headquarters in New Delhi to perform a puja and havan, offering prayers for his health and longevity. The event was attended by senior figures including party president Nitin Nabin, Union Minister Piyush Goyal, and Advani's daughter, Pratibha Advani. Proceedings featured the screening of a 20-minute video highlighting key speeches and episodes from Advani's political career.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi published a detailed tribute praising Advani's ideological clarity, intellectual sharpness, and role in nurturing generations of activists to give the party a foundation rooted in the principle of nation first. Modi recalled Advani's journey from Sindh, his leadership of the Jana Sangh, his Somnath-to-Ayodhya Rath Yatra, his service as Home Minister, and his partnership with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, stating the two leaders changed the course of Indian politics.

BJP president Nitin Nabin credited Advani with expanding the organization, turning the Ram Janmabhoomi movement into a mass movement, and establishing a precedent that opposition parties should support the government on national security issues. Other leaders, including Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu, also extended birthday wishes to the veteran leader.