Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first non-Congress prime minister to complete the full five-year term. As the BJP touted itself as a party with a difference, Vajpayee tried to steer it away from hardline Hindutva. In the process, he made the BJP and the Sangh Parivar more acceptable.
Vajpayee’s biggest legacy was his ability to run a coalition smoothly in the diversity of Indian polity. He could lead a motley crew of parties with diplomacy and efficacy.
Vajpayee’s diplomatic potential was first revealed when he was made the external affairs minister in the Morarji Desai government in 1977. His visit to China in 1979 was an attempt to heal the wounds from 1962. He also took upon himself the mission to bridge the rift with Pakistan created in the 1971 war.
As a prime minister, Vajpayee stunned the world with the nuclear test in Pokhran in May 1998. The bus ride to Lahore in February 1999 was another instance of his out-of-the-box diplomacy.
Vajpayee’s moderate line played a major role in repairing the social fabric of India damaged by the Babri Masjid demolition carried out by his own camp.
He always respected his political opponents and tried to take them along. His birthday is aptly observed as ‘Good Governance Day’.
Vajpayee was a gifted poet and orator. He could speak on varied subjects in Parliament without any preparation. He was truly a Bharat Ratna.