Atal Bihari Vajpayee, And His Legacy Of Straddling The Political Divide

Ex-Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee may have helped form the BJP in the 1980 but he was a member of student organization affiliated to the Communist Party before he joined the RSS, recalls Sudheendra Kulkarni, who served in the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) during Mr Vajpayee's tenure. He was also influenced by the Marxist ideology. Despite differences with his peers, he managed to earn their respect throughout his political life. LK Advani, giving a striking example of Mr Vajpayee's lack of adherence to Hindutva ideology, says if Mr Vajpayee had his way there may not have been any BJP at all.