First term: May 1996 During a BJP conference in Mumbai in November 1995, BJP President Advani declared that Vajpayee would be the party's prime ministerial candidate in the forthcoming elections. Vajpayee himself was reported to be unhappy with the announcement, responding by saying that the party needed to win the election first. The BJP became the single largest party in Parliament in the
1996 general election, helped by religious polarisation across the country as a result of the demolition of the Babri Masjid. Indian president
Shankar Dayal Sharma invited Vajpayee to form the government. Vajpayee was sworn in as the 10th prime minister of India, but the BJP failed to muster a majority among members of the Lok Sabha. Vajpayee resigned after 16 days, when it became clear that he did not have enough support to form a government.
Second term: 1998–1999 After the fall of the two
United Front governments between 1996 and 1998, the Lok Sabha was dissolved and fresh elections were held. The
1998 general elections again put the BJP ahead of others. A number of political parties joined the BJP to form the
National Democratic Alliance (NDA), and Vajpayee was sworn in as the prime minister. The coalition was an uneasy one, The government lost the ensuing vote of confidence motion in the Lok Sabha by a single vote on 17 April 1999. As the opposition was unable to come up with the numbers to form the new government, the Lok Sabha was again dissolved and fresh elections were held.
Nuclear tests In May 1998, India conducted
five underground nuclear tests in the
Pokhran desert in
Rajasthan, 24 years after its first nuclear test, operation
Smiling Buddha in 1974. Two weeks later, Pakistan responded with its own nuclear tests making it the newest nation with declared nuclear capability. While some nations, such as France, endorsed India's right to defensive nuclear power, others including the United States, Canada, Japan, Britain and the
European Union imposed sanctions on information, resources and technology to India. In spite of intense international criticism and steady decline in foreign investment and trade, the nuclear tests were popular domestically. In effect, the international sanctions imposed failed to sway India from weaponising its nuclear capability. US sanctions against India and Pakistan were eventually lifted after just six months. Several commentators interpreted the tests as an assertion of strategic autonomy and national self-confidence, consistent with Vajpayee's view of India as a civilisational state entitled to a secure and independent global role. Srinath Raghavan notes international support India gained during and after the Kargil War.
Lahore summit In late 1998 and early 1999, Vajpayee began a push for a full-scale diplomatic peace process with Pakistan. With the historic inauguration of the Delhi-Lahore bus service in February 1999, Vajpayee initiated a new peace process aimed towards permanently resolving the Kashmir dispute and other conflicts with Pakistan. The resultant
Lahore Declaration espoused a commitment to dialogue, expanded trade relations and mutual friendship and envisaged a goal of denuclearised South Asia. This eased the tension created by the 1998 nuclear tests, not only within the two nations but also in South Asia and the rest of the world.
AIADMK's withdrawal from the NDA The AIADMK had continually threatened to withdraw from the coalition and national leaders repeatedly flew down from Delhi to Chennai to pacify the AIADMK general secretary
J. Jayalalithaa. However, in May 1999, the AIADMK withdrew from NDA, and the Vajpayee administration was reduced to a caretaker status pending
fresh elections scheduled for October 1999.
Kargil War In May 1999 some Kashmiri shepherds discovered the presence of militants and non-uniformed Pakistani soldiers (many with official identifications and
Pakistan Army's custom weaponry) in the Kashmir Valley, where they had taken control of border hilltops and unmanned border posts. The incursion was centred around the town of
Kargil, but also included the
Batalik and
Akhnoor sectors and artillery exchanges at the
Siachen Glacier. The Indian army responded with Operation Vijay, which launched on 26 May 1999. This saw the Indian military fighting thousands of militants and soldiers in the midst of heavy artillery shelling and while facing extremely cold weather, snow and treacherous terrain at the high altitude. Over 500 Indian soldiers were killed in the three-month-long Kargil War, and it is estimated around 600–4,000 Pakistani militants and soldiers died as well. India pushed back the Pakistani militants and
Northern Light Infantry soldiers. Almost 70% of the territory was recaptured by India. Vajpayee sent a "secret letter" to US President
Bill Clinton that if Pakistani infiltrators did not withdraw from the Indian territory, "we will get them out, one way or the other". After Pakistan suffered heavy losses, and with both the United States and China refusing to condone the incursion or threaten India to stop its military operations, General
Pervez Musharraf was
recalcitrant and
Nawaz Sharif asked the remaining militants to stop and withdraw to positions along the LoC. The militants were not willing to accept orders from Sharif but the
NLI soldiers withdrew.
Third term: 1999–2004 The
1999 general elections were held in the aftermath of the Kargil operations. The BJP-led NDA won 303 seats out of the 543 seats in the Lok Sabha, securing a comfortable and stable majority. On 13 October 1999, Vajpayee took oath as the prime minister of India for the third time. A national crisis emerged in December 1999, when
Indian Airlines flight IC 814 from
Kathmandu to New Delhi was hijacked by five terrorists and flown to
Taliban-ruled Afghanistan. The hijackers made several demands including the release of certain terrorists like
Masood Azhar from prison. Under pressure, the government ultimately caved in.
Jaswant Singh, the then minister of external affairs, flew with the terrorists to Afghanistan and exchanged them for the passengers. This time, he created
Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation. on 6 November 2001 at the
Hyderabad Houseon 21 March 2000 In March 2000,
Bill Clinton, the President of the United States, paid a state visit to India. This was the first state visit to India by a US president in 22 years, since President Jimmy Carter's visit in 1978. President Clinton's visit was hailed as a significant milestone in relations between the two nations. The visit led to expansion in trade and economic ties between India and the United States. A vision document on the future course of Indo-US relations was signed during the visit. Domestically, the BJP-led government was influenced by the RSS, but owing to its dependence on coalition support, it was impossible for the BJP to push items like building the Ram Janmabhoomi temple in Ayodhya, repealing
Article 370 which gave a special status to the state of Kashmir, or enacting a
uniform civil code applicable to adherents of all religions. On 17 January 2000, there were reports of the RSS and some BJP hard-liners threatening to restart the Jan Sangh, the precursor to the BJP, because of their discontent over Vajpayee's rule. Former president of the Jan Sangh Balraj Madhok had written a letter to the then-RSS chief
Rajendra Singh for support. The BJP was, however, accused of "saffronising" the official state education curriculum and apparatus, saffron being the colour of the RSS flag of the RSS, and a symbol of the Hindu nationalism movement. Home Minister L. K. Advani and the Human Resource Development Minister (now called Education Minister)
Murli Manohar Joshi were indicted in the 1992
Babri Mosque demolition case for inciting a mob of activists. Vajpayee himself came under public scrutiny owing to his controversial speech one day prior to the mosque demolition. These years were accompanied by infighting in the administration and confusion regarding the direction of government. Vajpayee's weakening health was also a subject of public interest, and he underwent a major knee-replacement surgery at the
Breach Candy Hospital in Mumbai to relieve intense pressure upon his legs. In March 2001, the
Tehelka group released a sting operation video named
Operation West End which showed BJP president
Bangaru Laxman, senior army officers and NDA members accepting bribes from journalists posing as agents and businessmen. The Defence Minister
George Fernandes was forced to resign following the
Barak Missile scandal involving the botched supplies of coffins for the soldiers killed in Kargil, and the findings of an inquiry commission that the government could have prevented the Kargil invasion. Vajpayee initiated talks with Pakistan and invited Pakistani president Pervez Musharraf to
Agra for a
joint summit. President Musharraf was believed to be the principal architect of the Kargil War in India. By accepting him as the
President of Pakistan, Vajpayee chose to move forward leaving behind the Kargil War. But after three days of much fanfare, which included Musharraf visiting his birthplace in Delhi, the summit failed to achieve a breakthrough as President Musharraf declined to leave aside the issue of Kashmir.
2001 attack on Parliament On 13 December 2001, a group of masked, armed men with fake IDs stormed
Parliament House in Delhi. The terrorists managed to kill several security guards, but the building was sealed off swiftly and security forces cornered and killed the men who were later proven to be Pakistan nationals. Vajpayee ordered Indian troops to mobilise for war, leading to an estimated 500,000 to 750,000 Indian soldiers positioned along the international border between India and Pakistan under Operation Parakram. Pakistan responded by mobilising its own troops along the border leading to the
2001-2002 military standoff. In October 2002, both India and Pakistan announced that they would withdraw their troops from the border. It was passed in a joint session of the parliament, amidst concerns that the law would be misused. Another political disaster hit his government between December 2001 and March 2002 with the VHP and the Government engaging in a major standoff in
Ayodhya over the
Ram temple. On the 10th anniversary of the destruction of the
Babri mosque, the VHP wanted to perform a
shila daan, or a ceremony laying the foundation stone of the cherished temple at the disputed site. Thousands of VHP activists amassed and threatened to overrun the site and forcibly perform the ceremony. A threat of communal violence and breakdown of law and order owing to the defiance of the government by a religious organisation hung over the nation. The incident, however, ended peacefully with a symbolic handover of a stone at a different location 1 km away from the disputed site.
National security and major crises (1998–2004) Vajpayee's tenure was marked by several major national-security crises arising from cross-border terrorism and Pakistan's military strategy. Within weeks of his taking office, the government authorised a series of nuclear tests at Pokhran in May 1998, publicly affirming India's nuclear-weapons status and leading to a subsequent shift in regional deterrence dynamics. In 1999, India confronted the Kargil intrusion, in which Pakistan Army troops and Pakistan-backed militants occupied positions on the Indian side of the Line of Control. The conflict required high-altitude military operations and resulted in India restoring control over the occupied heights. Scholarly assessments describe the Kargil conflict as an attempt by Pakistan to unilaterally alter the territorial status quo under the cover of nuclear deterrence. Despite Vajpayee's outreach at the Lahore Summit (1999), cross-border terrorism intensified. India experienced a series of high-casualty attacks in Jammu and Kashmir, targeting civilians, pilgrims and security personnel. The most serious incident occurred on 13 December 2001, when militants belonging to Pakistan-based jihadist organisations attacked the Indian Parliament complex. The assault, aimed at the core of India's constitutional system, triggered Operation Parakram (2001–02), one of the largest military mobilisations in post-Independence history. The mobilisation brought India and Pakistan close to open war and prompted a reassessment of India's defensive and offensive doctrines. Vajpayee's later term also witnessed further terrorist strikes, including the 2002 Kaluchak massacre in Jammu and Kashmir and attacks on security installations. Analysts note that the period was defined by the dual challenge of managing nuclear-era strategic stability while confronting persistent state-sponsored terrorism.
2002 Gujarat violence In February 2002, a train filled with Hindu pilgrims returning to Gujarat from
Ayodhya stopped in the town of
Godhra. A scuffle broke out between Hindu activists and Muslim residents, and the train was set on fire, leading to the deaths of 59 people. The charred bodies of the victims were displayed in public in the city of
Ahmedabad, and the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad called for a statewide strike in Gujarat. These decisions stoked anti-Muslim sentiments. Blaming Muslims for the deaths, rampaging Hindu mobs killed thousands of Muslim men and women, destroying Muslim homes and places of worship. The violence raged for more than two months, and more than 1,000 people died. Gujarat was being ruled by a BJP government, with
Narendra Modi as the chief minister. The state government was criticised for mishandling the situation. It was accused of doing little to stop the violence, and even being complicit in encouraging it. He travelled to Gujarat, visiting Godhra, and Ahmedabad, the site of the most violent riots. He announced financial aid for victims and urged an end to the violence. While he condemned the violence, he did not chastise Modi directly in public. When asked as to what his message to the chief minister in the event of the riots would be, Vajpayee responded that Modi must follow
raj dharma, Hindi for ethical governance. The
Prime Minister's Office stated that these remarks had been taken out of context. Vajpayee was accused of doing nothing to stop the violence, and later admitted mistakes in handling the events.
K. R. Narayanan, then
president of India, also blamed Vajpayee's government for failing to quell the violence. After the BJP's defeat in the 2004 general elections, Vajpayee admitted that not removing Modi had been a mistake.
Later years in 2003. In late 2002 and 2003 the government pushed through economic reforms. Vajpayee's economic reforms and national renewal has been described well by Gurcharan Das. The country's GDP growth exceeded 7% every year from 2003 to 2007, following three years of sub-5% growth. Increasing foreign investment, In May 2003, he announced before the parliament that he would make one last effort to achieve peace with Pakistan. The announcement ended a period of 16 months, following the 2001 attack on the Indian parliament, during which India had severed diplomatic ties with Pakistan. Although diplomatic relations did not pick up immediately, visits were exchanged by high-level officials and the military standoff ended. The Pakistani President and Pakistani politicians, civil and religious leaders hailed this initiative as did the leaders of the United States, Europe and much of the world. In July 2003, Prime Minister Vajpayee visited China and met with various Chinese leaders. He recognised
Tibet as a part of China, which was welcomed by the Chinese leadership, and which, in the following year, recognised
Sikkim as part of India.
China–India relations improved greatly in the following years.
2004 general election ,
Uttar Pradesh, during the 2004 general election. In 2003, news reports suggested a tussle within the BJP with regard to sharing of leadership between Vajpayee and Deputy Prime Minister LK Advani. BJP president
Venkaiah Naidu had suggested that Advani must lead the party politically at the 2004 general elections, referring to Vajpayee as
vikas purush, Hindi for development man, and Advani as
loh purush, iron man. When Vajpayee subsequently threatened retirement, Naidu backtracked, announcing that the party would contest the elections under the twin leadership of Vajpayee and Advani. The NDA was widely expected to retain power after the
2004 general election. It announced elections six months ahead of schedule, hoping to capitalise on economic growth, and Vajpayee's peace initiative with Pakistan. The
13th Lok Sabha was dissolved before the completion of its term. The BJP hoped to capitalise on a perceived 'feel-good factor' and BJP's recent successes in the Assembly elections in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and
Chhattisgarh. Under the "
India Shining" campaign, it released ads proclaiming the economic growth of the nation under the government. However, the BJP could only win 138 seats in the 543-seat parliament, with several prominent cabinet ministers being defeated. The UPA, with the outside support of communist parties, formed the next government with
Manmohan Singh as the prime minister. Later, his aide Shiv Kumar Pareek revealed he didn't wanted earlier polls and sensed the defeat earlier.
Policies Vajpayee's government introduced many domestic economic and infrastructural reforms, including encouraging the private sector and foreign investments, reducing governmental waste, encouraging research and development and privatisation of some government owned corporations. In 2001, the Vajpayee government launched the
Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan campaign, aimed at improving the quality of education in primary and secondary schools. == Post-premiership ==