BJP Foundation Day On April 6: Here Is How The Party Was Formed
BJP has come a long way since its inception on April 6, 1980, emerging as the largest political party in the world. The BJP's ideological origins can be traced back to 1951.
The BJP will be celebrating its 43rd Foundation Day on April 6 with great fervour and enthusiasm. The saffron party has come a long way since its inception on April 6, 1980, emerging as the largest political party in the world, having the maximum number of MPs, MLAs and councillors in the country.
In fact, the BJP's journey was recently summed up by Prime Minister Narendra Modi after inaugurating an extension of the BJP headquarters.
"BJP started its journey from just two Lok Sabha seats and reached 303 in 2019. In many of the states, we get more than 50 per cent votes," he had said. "From north to south and from east to west, the BJP is the only pan-India party today," PM Modi further said.
The BJP was officially created on April 6, 1980. However, its ideological origins can be traced back to 1951 when Shyama Prasad Mukherjee broke away from Nehru's Congress and formed the Bhartiya Jana Sangh (BJS). The BJS, whose motto was the preservation of Hindu identity and culture, was formed in collaboration with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS).
However, electoral success eluded the BJS initially. In the 1952 Lok Sabha election, the BJS could win only three Lok Sabha seats.
The BJS gained some traction during Emergency imposed by then Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1975 when several of its leaders were arrested for protesting. After Emergency was withdrawn, the BJS collaborated with a number of other smaller regional parties and formed the Janata Party.
The Janata Party tasted success in the 1977 Lok Sabha election and formed the government at the Centre with Morarji Desai as the Prime Minister.
However, Morarji Desai was forced to resign in 1980 due to infighting within the party and fresh elections were held. The Janata Party dissolved in 1980 and its members formed the BJP with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as its first president.
The massive defeat of the party in the 1984 elections came as a shock to the BJP. However, its graph started rising with the Ram temple movement in 1990s. However, the party's influence remained largely restricted to Hindi heartland.
In 1996, BJP emerged as the single largest party with 161 seats under the leadership of Vajpayee. It formed government in 1996 for 13 days. In 1998, BJP won 182 seats but the Vajpayee government lasted for 13 months after All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) withdrew its support.
Lok Sabha elections were again held in 1999 and was won by the BJP and Atal Bihari Vajpayee became the PM for a full term this time.
However, the party's biggest milestone was its massive win in the 2014 Lok Sabha election which coincided with the emergence of Narendra Modi on the national scene. In following years, the party expanded its footprint beyond Hindi heartland, especially in the Northeast region and in Karnataka in south.
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