1980–1989: Early years On 6 April 1980, Advani along with few of the erstwhile members of the Jana Sangh quit the Janata Party and formed the
Bharatiya Janata Party with
Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the first president. Though the previous government lasted briefly from 1977 till 1980 and was marred with factional wars, the period saw a rise in support for the RSS which culminated into the formation of the BJP. In 1982, he was elected to the Rajya Sabha for the third time from
Madhya Pradesh representing the BJP. Under Advani, BJP became the political face of the
Ayodhya dispute over the
Ram Janmabhoomi site when the
Vishwa Hindu Parishad (VHP) began a movement for the construction of a temple dedicated to the Hindu deity
Rama at the site of the
Babri Masjid in
Ayodhya. The dispute centered on the basis of the belief that the site was the birthplace of Rama, and that a temple once stood there that had been demolished by the
Mughal emperor Babur with the
Archaeological Survey of India (ASI) supporting the claim. BJP supported the campaign and made it a part of their election manifesto for the
1989 elections, helping it win 86 seats with Advani getting elected to the
Lok Sabha for the first time. Advani became the
leader of opposition in Lok Sabha when
VP Singh formed the
National Front government.
1990–1997: Rath yatras and rise of BJP Advani often organised
rath yatras or processions to boost the popularity of the BJP and unify Hindutva ideology. He organised six across the country with the first one in 1990. •
Ram Rath Yatra: Advani started his first yatra from
Somnath in
Gujarat on 25 September 1990 which concluded at
Ayodhya on 30 October 1990. The procession was linked to the
dispute at
Ram Janmabhoomi site at Ayodhya and was stopped in
Bihar by then
Chief Minister Lalu Yadav with Advani himself being arrested on the orders of
V. P. Singh, then Prime Minister of India. •
Janadesh Yatra: Four processions starting on 11 September 1993 from four corners of country were organised and Advani led the yatra from
Mysore in
South India. Traversing through 14 states and two Union Territories, the processions were organised with the purpose to seek the people's mandate against the two bills, the Constitution 80th Amendment Bill and the Representation of People (Amendment) Bill and congregated at
Bhopal on 25 September. •
Swarna Jayanti Rath Yatra: The procession was organised between May and July 1997 and was conducted in celebration of 50 years of
Indian Independence and to project the BJP as a party committed to good governance. •
Bharat Uday Yatra: The yatra took place in the run-up to the
2004 election. •
Bharat Suraksha Yatra: The BJP launched a nationwide mass political campaign from 6 April to 10 May 2006 consisting of two yatras – one led by Advani from
Dwaraka in Gujarat to Delhi and the other led by
Rajnath Singh from
Puri to Delhi. The yatra was focused on fighting left wing terrorism, minority politics, price rise and corruption, protection of democracy. •
Jan Chetna Yatra: The last of the yatras was launched on 11 October 2011 from Sitab Diara in Bihar for the purposes of mobilising public opinion against perceived corruption of the then-ruling
UPA government and promoting the BJP's agenda of good governance and anti-corruption. In 1990, Advani embarked on
Ram Rath Yatra, a procession with a chariot to mobilise volunteers for Ram Janmabhoomi movement. The procession began from
Somnath in Gujarat and headed to converge at Ayodhya. In the
1991 general election, the BJP became the second largest party after the Congress with Advani winning for the second time from
Gandhinagar and becoming the leader of opposition again. In 1992,
Babri Masjid was demolished with Advani alleged to have delivered a provocative speech prior to the demolition. Advani was among the accused in the demolition case but was acquitted on 30 September 2020 by a
CBI special court. In the judgement, it was mentioned that the demolition was not pre-planned and that Advani was trying to stop the mob and not incite them. In the
1996 general election, the BJP became the single largest party and was consequently invited by the
president to form the government. Advani did not contest the elections over allegations of involvement in the
Hawala scandal, and resigned his seat on 16 January 1996, but was later cleared of charges by the
Supreme Court. While Vajpayee was sworn in as prime minister in May 1996, the government collapsed after just thirteen days. ==1998–2004: Home minister and deputy prime minister==