BJP(Bhartiya Janata Party)- the major indian political party

In 1980, the leaders and workers of the former Bharatiya Jana Sangh, founded the Bharatiya Janata Party with Vajpayee as its first president. The BJP heavily criticised the Congress government and its policies, and while it opposed the Sikh militancy that was rising in the state of Punjab, it also blamed Indira Gandhi for biassed and corrupt politics that instigated the militancy at national expense. Sikh Leader Darasingh opines that Vajpayee thus "brought in Hindu-Sikh harmony."
The BJP was a major opponent of Operation Blue Star. The party was amongst those who strongly disliked and openly protested the violence against Sikhs in Delhi that broke out in 1984, following the assassination of prime minister Indira Gandhi by one of her Sikh bodyguards. The BJP was left with only two parliamentary seats in the 1984 elections; the party, however, had established itself in the mainstream of Indian politics, and soon began widening its structure and policies to attract young Indians throughout the nation. During this period, Vajpayee remained central within the party as its president and as the Leader of the Opposition in Parliament, but increasingly hard-line Hindu nationalists began to rise within the party and define its politics.
Founders


Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the first BJP Prime Minister of India (1998–2004).
The BJP became the political voice of the Ram Janmabhoomi Mandir Movement, which was led by activists of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) and the RSS, and was advocating for the construction of a temple dedicated to Lord Rama in place of the Babri mosque in Ayodhya. Many believed, and still do believe, that the site was the birthplace of the Lord, and that there was a temple long before the Babri mosque was built after the alleged demolition of the temple by Babar.They held that this qualified the site as one of the most sacred sites of Hinduism, where a temple should be reconstructed. The party under its president Lal Krishna Advani invigorated the nation with various rath yatras and succeeded in creating a popular protest amongst Hindus.
On 6 December 1992, hundreds of VHP and BJP activists broke down an orderly protest into a frenzied attack, and razed the mosque. Over the following weeks, waves of violence between Hindus and Muslims erupted all over the country, killing over 1000 people. The VHP was banned by the government, and many BJP leaders, including L.K. Advani were arrested briefly for provoking the destruction. Although widely condemned by many across the country for playing politics with sensitive issues, the BJP won the support of millions of Hindus, as well as national prominence.
Victory in assembly elections of Delhi in 1993 and Gujarat and Maharashtra in March 1995, and a good performance in the elections to the Karnataka assembly in December 1994, propelled the BJP to the centrestage. During the BJP session at Mumbai in November 1995, BJP president L.K. Advani declared that Vajpayee would be the Prime Minister of India if the BJP won the next parliamentary elections scheduled for May 1996. In that election, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha and Vajpayee became Prime minister. He, however had to resign within 13 days as the BJP was unable to obtain the required majority.
In the Lok Sabha elections held in 1998 the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) obtained a simple majority. This time, the BJP (NDA) had allied with the All India Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (AIADMK) and the Biju Janata Dal besides its existing allies, the Samata Party, the Shiromani Akali Dal and Shiv Sena. Outside support was provided by the Telugu Desam Party (TDP). The NDA had a slim majority, and Vajpayee returned as prime minister after the 13-day stint in 1996.[20] But the coalition ruptured in May 1999 when the leader of AIADMK, Jayalalitha, withdrew her support, and fresh elections were again held.
On 13 October 1999, the BJP-led NDA riding on a wave of popularity, following victory in the Kargil war and major public support for Vajpayee, won 303 seats. The BJP alone had its highest ever tally of 183. Vajpayee became prime minister for the third time, and Advani became the deputy prime minister and Home Minister. This NDA government lasted its full term of five years. Vajpayee and his economic team, led by Finance Minister Yashwant Sinha continued the policies initiated by the previous Congress government under P. V. Narasimha Rao and Manmohan Singh.
The NDA government also facillatated major privatisations of previously nationalised government corporations, the implementation of World Trade Organisation guidelines, airline deregulation, foreign investment and ownership and allowed private companies such as Mahindra World City and Reliance to build Special Economic Zones where property developers could build new cities with high-standard infrastructure to manufacture and export products.
The BJP and the NDA met with an unexpected defeat in the 2004 general elections, and failed to muster a parliamentary majority. Manmohan Singh of the Congress Party and United Progressive Alliance succeeded Vajpayee as prime minister.
In May 2008, the BJP won the state elections in Karnataka. This was the first time that the party had won Assembly elections in any south Indian state. In the 2009 general elections, BJP again faced defeat and its strength in Lok Sabha reduced to 116 seats. The unexpected defeat of BJP is attributed to bad performance of the party in Rajasthan, Uttar Pradesh, Maharashtra, Uttarakhand and Andhra Pradesh.