The two tallest leaders of the BJP, Atal Bihari Vajpayee and LK Advani, have now been conferred the Bharat Ratna by the Narendra Modi government. Both have been awarded the Bharat Ratna in their lifetime, Vajpayee in 2015 and Advani when he is 96, silencing critics who accused Narendra Modi of side-lining senior-most BJP leaders.

Advani was also awarded the Parma Vibhushan by the Modi government in 2015 soon after coming to power. Now, at the age of 96, Advani has been awarded the Bharat Ratna in a major move that will prove to be the political legacy of Modi. It also cements the Modi government’s claim that it has acknowledged the political contributions of stalwarts from both sides of the political spectrum, which the Congress ignored.

For example, the likes of senior Congress leaders like Pranab Mukherjee and Madan Mohan Malviya were also awarded the Bharat Ratna by the Modi government, along with socialist icon Karpoori Thakur awarded this year.

Modi in his message on Saturday said he had learnt a lot from Advani who has been the architect of the BJP. Advani has been among the party’s tallest leaders who rose to limelight by making the BJP the political face of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in 1990. He co-founded the party in 1980 and was the party president three times. He also served as the Deputy Prime Minister and the Union Home Minister, was the Leader of the Opposition in both houses of Parliament and became the party’s prime ministerial face in the 2009 elections. In 2014, Advani became a part of the margdarshak mandal of the party along with Murli Manohar Joshi.

Advani’s political rise came from his Ram Rath Yatra in 1990 from Somnath in Gujarat to Ayodhya to press for the construction of a Ram Temple in Ayodhya at the site of the Babri Masjid. He was stopped in Bihar by then state chief minister Lalu Prasad Yadav on the orders of then prime minister VP Singh.

In 1992, when kar sewaks demolished the mosque on December 6, Advani was accused of delivering provocative speeches near the site. CBI charged him and other BJP leaders with criminal conspiracy in bringing down the Babri Masjid. Twenty-eight years later, in 2020, a court acquitted Advani in the case citing lack of evidence and said the demolition of the mosque was a spontaneous act and not pre-planned. In 2022, the High Court upheld the same.

Despite being the face of the party and nurturing many BJP stalwarts like Sushma Swaraj, Pramod Mahajan and Arun Jaitley, Advani could never realize his dream of becoming the Prime Minister. The rise of Modi in 2013-14 made Advani withdraw to the sidelines. But, Modi kept his unwavering respect for Advani, including making it a point to visit him on his birthday every year.

A Padma Vibhushan in 2015 and now a Bharat Ratna now underlines Modi’s respect for Advani and silences those who questioned Advani’s absence at the Pan Prathistha event in Ayodhya on January 22. Advani had cited harsh weather conditions to skip the event.

“Advani Ji’s decades-long service in public life has been marked by an unwavering commitment to transparency and integrity, setting an exemplary standard in political ethics. He has made unparalleled efforts towards furthering national unity and cultural resurgence. The conferring of the Bharat Ratna on him is a very emotional moment for me. I will always consider it my privilege to have countless opportunities to interact with and learn from him,” PM Modi posted on X on Saturday.