CM Fadnavis wishes LK Advani on entering his 100th year
Synopsis
Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis extended birthday greetings to Bharat Ratna and former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani as he stepped into his 100th year on 8 November 2026, saluting his decades of national service and BJP legacy.
Key Takeaways
Lal Krishna Advani stepped into his 100th year on 8 November 2026 .
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis posted birthday greetings in both English and Marathi on X.
Advani was conferred the Bharat Ratna — India's highest civilian honour — in 2024 .
Advani served as Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004 under PM Vajpayee.
His career spans the Bharatiya Jana Sangh , the Ram Janmabhoomi movement , and the founding of the modern BJP .
Public tributes from BJP state leaders to Advani reinforce the party's claim to ideological continuity with its founding generation.
A century of life, four decades of shaping Indian politics — and on Sunday, 8 November 2026, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis became one of the first senior BJP leaders to publicly mark the milestone as Bharat Ratna Lal Krishna Advani stepped into his 100th year.
Fadnavis posted warm greetings in both English and Marathi, writing: 'His invaluable contribution to the nation and decades of dedicated public service continue to inspire generations.' In Marathi he added, 'राष्ट्रसेवेतील त्यांचे योगदान आणि प्रदीर्घ सार्वजनिक जीवन आपल्या सर्वांसाठी प्रेरणादायी आहे' — 'His contribution to national service and long public life is an inspiration to all of us.'
From Jan Sangh to Bharat Ratna: Advani's arc
Few careers in independent India's politics span as wide. Lal Krishna Advani began in the ideological lineage of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh before becoming a founding pillar of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He led the party through its years in opposition, was a central figure in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, and served as Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004 under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
In 2024, the government conferred the Bharat Ratna — India's highest civilian honour — on Advani, formally recognising a lifetime of public service that shaped the modern Indian right. The award closed a long loop: a party he helped build had returned to power, and its government honoured the architect.
Why BJP leaders mark this day publicly
Tributes like Fadnavis's are not incidental. For the BJP, public reverence toward foundational figures such as Advani serves a deliberate purpose: it signals ideological continuity and institutional memory at a time when the party's newer generation holds most executive power. State chief ministers — especially those from the party's core states — routinely extend these gestures to affirm that the roots have not been forgotten.
Fadnavis, one of the party's most prominent second-generation leaders, lending his voice to the tribute carries particular weight in Maharashtra, where the BJP governs and where Advani's decades of organisational work helped lay the party's western-India foundation.
As more tributes are expected from BJP office-bearers and allied leaders across the country, Advani's hundredth year marks not just a personal milestone — it marks a living connection between the party's founding generation and the India it helped reshape.
Point of View
Particularly in Maharashtra, a state where Advani's organisational decades matter. The scale of tributes from central leadership will itself be read as a barometer of Advani's standing in a party that has moved well beyond his era.
NationPress
8 Nov 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
How old is LK Advani in 2026?
In November 2026, Lal Krishna Advani stepped into his 100th year, marking a century-long life that has spanned India's independence and the full arc of its modern political history.
When did LK Advani receive the Bharat Ratna?
LK Advani was conferred the Bharat Ratna — India's highest civilian honour — in 2024, in recognition of his decades of public service and contribution to Indian politics.
What position did LK Advani hold in the Indian government?
LK Advani served as Deputy Prime Minister of India from 2002 to 2004 in the Vajpayee-led NDA government, one of the most senior positions he held in a long career in government and opposition.
Why did CM Fadnavis wish LK Advani on his birthday?
Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis posted birthday greetings to Advani as a mark of respect for a founding BJP veteran; such public tributes are a regular feature of BJP political culture, affirming the party's connection to its foundational figures.
What is LK Advani's role in the BJP's history?
LK Advani is one of the founding pillars of the Bharatiya Janata Party, having been active in its predecessor the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, and later leading the party through major movements including the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign that defined Indian politics in the late 1980s and 1990s.
