New Delhi: Very few politicians of independent India can be credited with bringing about paradigm shift in the political discourse of the country. L K Advani is definitely one of them. Advani is the man who successfully metamorphosed the concept of ‘hardline Hindutva' into a viable political philosophy that changed the contours of Indian polity like never before.It was Advani who made the modern BJP, brick by brick. When he took over as the president of the BJP in 1986, the party was in tatters. It had only 2 members in the Lok Sabha as the Congress party led by Rajiv Gandhi had swept the general elections in the aftermath of Indira Gandhi's assassination. Advani had his task cut out. Advani realized that Congress party under the leadership of Rajiv Gandhi was taking a soft-Hindutva political line on issues like Ram temple in Ayodhya and Shahbano case. He thought that the Congress party was trying to encroach upon a territory that actually belonged to BJP, given the fact that the party was attached to RSS, a pro-Hindu socio-cultural organization, with the proverbial umbilical cord.Rath Yatra of 1990For Advani, it was an opportunity to redefine the agenda of BJP that could help it stand apart from other opposition parties and provide the party with the moral and ideological ammunition to challenge the political hegemony of the ruling Congress party. And the result was what we better know as the advent of BJP's brand of Hindutva that Advani introduced with an eye on grabbing power at the centre. Rath Yatra of 1990BJP's brand of Hindutva was different in the sense that it focused more on uniting Hindus under one umbrella by reminding them of the rampant appeasement policy that the Congress was following in order to use ‘Muslims' as vote bank during elections. Advani's Hindutva focused less on abolishing social and economic disparities among Hindus and it resulted in BJP's critics calling it as a gang up of the forward caste Hindus who were trying to grab power by creating hatred against the Muslims.Rath Yatra of 1990The critics pointed towards another angle behind Advani's new found love for hardline Hindutva. And it was the implementation of ‘Mandal Commission' report by V P Singh govt that provided for 27 percent reservation for OBCs in government jobs. BJP's opponents said that Advani played ‘Kamandal' card to tackle ‘Mandal card' that could unite more than 50 percent of the entire population.Advani as a childIt's difficult to rule out any of the above mentioned theories. A closer analysis of the prevalent political situation at that point of time will make it clear that a desperate BJP under Advani's leadership thought that only hardline ‘Hindutva' policy had the potential of neutralizing the soft Hindutva line of Congress and the divisive caste card played by V P Singh.Advani at extreme leftIt was under these circumstances that Advani decided to come out openly in support of Ram Janmabhoomi movement. He decided to embark upon a Toyota ‘rath Yatra' in 1990, from Somnath to Ayodhya, to create awareness among Hindus about the need to liberate the Ram temple at Ayodhya that was allegedly demolished by the Mughal invader Babur in 16th century. The Rath yatra was stopped and Advani was arrested by Lalu Prasad in Bihar but by this time, Advani's Rath Yatra had succeeded in setting a new agenda in Indian politics. Before Advani's Rath Yatra, Indian polity was divided between Pro- and anti- Congress forces but after this yatra, Indian polity got divided between pro- and anti-BJP political forces.Advani with Vajpayee and Bhairo Singh Shekhawat (Younger days)Advani's Rath yatra mesmerized the Indian middle class, the core of BJP's support base. The BJP moved ahead by leap and bounds. From 2 seats in 1984 to 88 seats in 1989 and then to 120 seats in 1991. In 1991, BJP for the first time emerged as the main opposition party in the parliament. Advani with Vajpayee and Bhairo Singh Shekhawat (later on)In 1996, BJP's tally reached to 161 seats and the first BJP government under Atal Behari Vajpayee's leadership was formed although it lasted for just 13 days. Although Vajpayee became the Prime Minister of BJP-led govt, it was Advani who had crafted the entire electoral strategy that had really clicked. Advani had to concede the leadership to Vajpayee because his hardline Hindutva image was not conducive for winning over more and more allies that was necessary to touch the magic figure in Lok Sabha.Advani with wife KamlaThe sacrifice of Advani worked as the BJP succeeded in forming the govt in 1998 that lasted for 13 months and then in 1999 that lasted till 2004 when BJP finally lost the electoral battle to a rejuvenated Congress under Sonia Gandhi's leadership. Advani was first made the Home Minister and later on promoted as the Deputy Prime Minister.Advani with wife Kamla and daughter PratibhaAlthough Advani had handed over the leadership mantle to Vajpayee, he never concealed his desire for the top job. His time came after the BJP led NDA lost the 2004 elections. Vajpayee was on the verge of retirement and Advani sniffed his chances for the top job. Advani started positioning himself as Vajpayee's heir for 2009 elections. In his eagerness to break free of his hard-line anti-Muslim image, Advani praised Jinnah as a secular leader during his Pakistan visit in 2005. Little did he know that this one statement will seal his fate. He was widely criticized for his remarks by his own partymen. A furious RSS expressed its dismay over his statement. Obviously, Advani had fallen from grace and was completely marginalized in his own party.Advani with family at a pilgrimageNevertheless, the RSS allowed him to be projected as NDA's PM candidate because there was no other viable alternative acceptable to NDA's allies. Unfortunately for Advani, NDA failed once again and Advani's wish of occupying 7, Race Course Road remained unfulfilled. But the downfall of Advani had already started and the loss of 2009 further isolated him. The RSS did not allow him to continue as leader of opposition in Lok Sabha and he was told tersely to play just the role of a mentor.Advani playing Holi But Advani never gave up as he always thought that he is the right claimant for the top job because it eaas he who strategized for the ascendance of the party that clicked and catapulted the party into power. Since Advani had played the most crucial role in sealing alliances with diverse groups, he had ace up his sleeves. Even today, Advani is pretty hopeful of trying his luck once again in 2014, with the support of BJp's allies like Nitish Kumar led JD(U).It is said that Nitish Kunmar has gone belligerent in his opposition to Narendra Modi as NDA's PM candidate because he has got the tacit support of Advani. Advani's supporters like Vijay Goel and Uma Bharti miss no chance of floating his name for PM post. Clearly, the man still considers himself clearly to be in the race, even today, despite all the snub he got from the RSS, the parent organization.Early Life:Lal Krishnachand Advani was born in Karachi (Now in Pakistan) on Nov 8, 1927. He belonged to a Hindu Sindhi family and his parents were Kishanchand D Advani and Gyani Devi. He completed his early schooling from Saint Patrick's High School, Karachi, and then enrolled at D G National College in Hyderabad Sindh. He graduated in Law from Government Law College, Bombay University. He completed his Master's in Sociology from Mumbai University. Advani started his career as a teacher, teaching English, history, math and science to high school students at Model High School in Karachi. In 1947, he was elected as the Secretary of Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. After partition, he moved over to India and joined Bharatiya Jana Sangh, founded by Syama Prasad Mookerjee. In 1957, he was asked to assist Atal Behari Vajpayee as his secretary. Atal Behari Vajpayee was already an MP by then. In 1965, he married Kamla Advani. The couple has two children – Pratibha and Jayant.In 1970, he entered the Rajya Sabha for the first time. In 1972, he became the president of Bhartiya Jan sangh.He played an important role in fight against the emergency imposed by Indira Gandhi and was arrested in Bangalore. He was made Information and broadcasting minister when janata partry, a conglomerate of all major national parties barring communists, formed the govt in 1977. He continued as I&B minister till 1979.The issue of dual membership resulted in the split of Janata party and those belonging to erstwhile Jan Sangh, including Advani, moved out and formed a new party- Bhartiya Janata Party.Advani became the president of BJP in 1986 and introduced the concept of hard-line Hindutva as the core political ideology of the party. The rest, as we say, is history.Advani with C RiceAdvani launched his famous Rath yatra from Somnath to Ayodhya in 1990 although he was arrested mid-way in Bihar by maverick Lalu Prasad Yadav.In Vajpayee led BJP govt, he held the crucial portfolio of Home and was promoted as Deputy PM in 2002. Presently, he is said to be in close touch with anti-Modi allies of BJP and he hopes that in the absence of a consensus over Modi's candidature, he may emerge as the unanimous choice and can fulfill his dream of ruling India. Clearly, he is a die-hard optimist and is doing everything to keep his hopes alive. Let's have a look at some of the most interesting photographs of Advani's political career:Advani, Vajpayee, Govindacharya and Kalyan SinghAdvani with Morarjee DesaiAdvani with familyAdvani with Amitabh and AishwaryaAdvani with Uddhav Thackeray
