15 August,2023 03:54 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Atal Bihari Vajpayee (File Photo/AFP)
Atal Bihari Vajpayee served as the 10th Prime Minister of India from 1998 to 2004. He was a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and was the first non-Congress Prime Minister to serve a full five-year term.
During Vajpayee's tenure as a PM, he was known for his moderate approach to politics. Vajpayee was also credited with the India's nuclear tests in 1998.
Vajpayee received awards for his contributions to the country. His receieved the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian honour, in 2015.
Let's check collection of rare photos from his professional life:
File Photo: Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee speaks to guests during a postage stamps release function at his residence in New Delhi 02 May 2003 (AFP)
File Photo: Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee greets opposition party leaders as Home Minister L. K. Advani (R) looks on during the all party meeting at Parliament house in New Delhi, 14 April 2001. Sonia Gandhi's main opposition Congress Party boycotted the meeting called by Vajpayee to break a parliamentary deadlock, caused by an arms bribery scandal (AFP)
File Photo: Former Indian Prime Minister and Senior leader of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Atal Bihari Vajpayee (C) Leader of Opposition and BJP leader, Lal Krishna Advani (3L) Opposition Vice-President candidate Najma Heptulla (2L) BJP President Rajnath Singh (2R) and BJP members of Parliament (MPs) arrive at parliament to cast their votes in the Indian Vice-President election at Parliament in New Delhi, 10 August 2007 (AFP)
File Photo: Supreme Head of the All Jammu & Kashmir Muslim Conference from Pakistan-controlled Kashmir (POK), Sardar Muhammed Abdul Qayyum Khan (L) gestures while talking to Former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee (C) and President of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) L.K.Advani (R) during a meeting in New Delhi, 22 September 2005. Politicians from the Indian and Pakistani sides of divided Kashmir held their first-ever talks amid peace efforts by the South Asian rivals to settle differences that have kept them from normalizing relations. (AFP)