Veteran BJP leader and former Deputy Prime Minister L K Advani, who played an instrumental role in the rise of the saffron party as a major political force, was on Saturday named for the Bharat Ratna, the nation’s highest civilian award, for what Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his contribution to the development of India.

”The President has been pleased to award Bharat Ratna to Shri Lal Krishna Advani,” a one-line communique from the Rashtrapati Bhavan said.

Mr Advani, who is now in his nineties, brought the BJP into national reckoning in the true sense with his historic ‘Rath Yatra’ for Ayodhya’s Ram Temple in the early 1990s. He is one of the founding members of the BJP along with Mr Atal Bihari Vajpayee and served as its president thrice.

An elated PM Modi, who learnt the rope of party politics under Mr Advani and was the main organiser of his ‘Rath yatra’ in September 1990, in a social media post on X said he had spoken to the BJP stalwart and congratulated him on being conferred the honour.

”One of the most respected statesmen of our times, his (Mr Advani) contribution to the development of India is monumental. His is a life that started from working at the grassroots to serving the nation as our Deputy Prime Minister. He distinguished himself as our Home Minister and I&B Minister as well. His Parliamentary interventions have always been exemplary, full of rich insights,” the PM wrote.

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Home Minister Amit Shah also expressed happiness over the announcement of awarding ‘Bharat Ratna’ to Mr Advani.

Born in Karachi (now in Pakistan), on November 8, 1927, Mr Advani served as the BJP President for the longest period since its inception in 1980. Capping a parliamentary career of nearly three decades, he was first the Home Minister and later the Deputy Prime Minister in the Vajpayee Government (1999-2004).

Mr Advani is widely regarded as an individual of great intellectual ability, strong principles, and unwavering support for the idea of a strong and prosperous India. It is said that Mr Advani never compromised on his core belief in nationalism, and yet displayed flexibility in political responses whenever the situation demanded.

Through the latter half of the 1980s and the 1990s, he focused on the singular task of building the BJP into a national political force. The results of his efforts were underscored by the 1989 Lok Sabha polls when the saffron outfit bounced back from its 1984 tally of two to win an impressive 86 seats. The party’s position moved up to 121 seats in 1992 and 161 in 1996; making the 1996 elections a watershed in Indian democracy. For the first time since independence, the Congress was dethroned from its preeminent position, and the BJP became the single largest party in the Lok Sabha.