Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; "Indian People's Party") is one of the largest political parties in India. In the 12th Lok Sabha (1999-2004) it was the single largest party with 179 (out of 545) members. It is the successor party of the Bharatiya Jan Sangh (BJS; "Indian Peoples Alliance", often referred to as just the Jan Sangh), which merged itself into the Janata Party in 1977. The BJP was formed as a separate party in 1980 after internal differences in the Janata Party resulted in the collapse of its government in 1979. Founder (of BJS): Syama Prasad Mookerjee (1901-1953) The logo of BJP Lok Sabha elections 2004, click for full image Presidents: Lal Krishna Advani - 2004-(2007) Venkaiah Naidu - 2002-2004 Jana Krishnamurthy - 2001-2002 Bangaru Laxman - 2000-2001 Kushabhau Thakre - 1998-2000 Lal Krishna Advani - 1993-1998 Murali Manohar Joshi - 1991-1993 Lal Krishna Advani - 1986-1991 Atal Bihari Vajpayee - 1980-1986 It is the dominant component of the National Democratic Alliance. As the largest party in opposition former party president and Deputy Prime Minister in the previous government Lal Krishna Advani is the leader of the opposition in the 13th Lok Sabha. The party has close ties to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) organization. The BJP considers itself to be a secular party and defines Hindutva not in terms of religion but as Indian-ness. According to the party this is in consonance with the root meaning of the word Hindu . In 2002, Abdul Kalam, architect of the Indian nuclear programme, was nominated by the BJP, being a Muslim to become President of India and he won the subsequent elections for the post. This nomination is seen by many as an indication of BJP's Multi-religious organization. There are other prominent leaders such as Mukthar Abbas Naqvi, a Muslim. Following the 2004 elections, the NDA was confronted with its failure to secure sufficient seats to form a government. There were significant setbacks in rural states, but the BJP also had major reversals in key urban centres including Mumbai, Calcutta, Delhi and Chennai. This electoral shock was due to its perceived inability to extend the benefits of strong economic growth to a broader range of the populace. Disaffection was particularly evident amongst the rural electorate, suffering under the pressures of drought, a dearth of infrastructure investment, and relative impoverishment. The mantle of power has thus passed to the alliance headed by the United Progressive Alliance. External link Official site FAVORITE ARTICLES: History of the World    History of the United States    History of Europe    Ancient History    History    Military History    World War I    Bombing of Dresden    California    US Constitution    Frank Sinatra    Boston    Marbury v. Madison This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. You must provide a link to http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html To view or edit this article at Wikipedia go to http://www.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bharatiya_Janata_Party