Atal Bihari Vajpayee: An Enduring Paradox of Indian Politics

The poet-politician, the man who made India a declared nuclear state and almost went to war with Pakistan before making a dramatic gesture for peace, the Nehru of the Right - these are the many shades that make Atal Bihari Vajpayee an enduring paradox of Indian politics. (In Pictures: Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Life and Legacy)

He has been conferred the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour.

In the six decades he was in electoral politics, Mr Vajpayee went from a politician who lost elections to a colossus who became India's only non-Congress prime minister to last a full five years in office. (At Vajpayee's Family Home in Gwalior, his Favourite Menu Being Prepared)

Mr Vajpayee ruled the country for 13 days in 1996, 13 months in 1998 and for almost six years from 1999.

The son of a schoolmaster from Gwalior, Mr Vajpayee joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak
Sangh or RSS in 1939 and became a full member in 1947.

In 1951, he was drafted, along with Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, to work with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the predecessor of his BJP.

Mr Vajpayee rose swiftly up the ranks but Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first prime minister, remained his idol.

Nehru described the young Vajpayee as a 'bright prospect'.

Vajpayee spent months in prison when Indira Gandhi imposed Emergency Rule in June 1975. In the Janata government that came to power in 1977, Mr Vajpayee became foreign minister. (Bharat Ratna for Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Madan Mohan Malviya)

Noticed for his charisma, wit and oratorical skills, Mr Vajpayee won popularity and respect from across the spectrum.

His first entry into parliament was in 1962 through the Rajya Sabha. It was only nine years later that he won an election. He was elected to the Lok Sabha seven times.

The lowest point in his career came when in 1984, after Indira Gandhi's assassination, the BJP that he set up with his long-time friend and colleague LK Advani managed to win just two seats in the 545-member Parliament. Mr Vajpayee also lost in Gwalior, his birthplace. ("Vajpayee Had Blemish-Free Record, Deserves Bharat Ratna": LK Advani)

The party came to the spotlight with the "Ram Janmabhoomi movement" for a temple at the site of a 16th century mosque in Ayodhya that many Hindus believe was built on the birthplace of Lord Ram.

Mr Vajpayee, however, was the only voice in his party who called it the "worst miscalculation" when Hindu mobs razed the mosque in 1992.

An astute politician, Mr Vajpayee mentored the 1998 nuclear tests in Rajasthan's Pokhran, which led to sanctions against India by countries including the US and Japan.

At the same time, he also believed in grand gestures for peace. He rode the newly inaugurated bus service between Delhi and Lahore and hosted the Agra summit, despite the wounds of the Kargil conflict with Pakistan.

Vajpayee had also been vocal after the Gujarat riots of 2002, and much was made of his 'Rajdharam' comment, when asked in a press conference what the then Gujarat Chief Minister Narendra Modi should do. The comment had sparked intense speculation that then Prime Minister was unhappy with Mr Modi's handling of the Gujarat riots under his watch.

For the three-time enigmatic PM, his health, however, also became a matter of concern. In 2009 he had to be admitted to the hospital barely 48 hours before his party's National Executive in Nagpur. Since then, he has been largely confined to his home in the capital, away from public life.