CM Himanta pays tribute to Jaswant Singh on punyatithi
Synopsis
Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma on Sunday paid tribute to veteran BJP leader Jaswant Singh on his punyatithi, recalling his role as a party founding figure and his stewardship of India's defence, foreign affairs, and finance portfolios under the Vajpayee government.
Key Takeaways
Jaswant Singh passed away on 27 September 2020 ; Sunday marks his sixth death anniversary.
He was one of the founding members of the BJP , established in 1980 .
Singh served as Union Minister for Defence (1998–2000), External Affairs, and Finance in the Vajpayee-led NDA government.
CM Himanta Biswa Sarma honoured him as 'one of the stalwarts of Indian politics' and praised his work for the poor and India's defence apparatus.
The tribute is part of the BJP's wider practice of publicly honouring its veteran leaders on their death anniversaries.
Six years after his passing, Jaswant Singh — one of the founding pillars of the Bharatiya Janata Party and a veteran of three of India's most consequential ministries — is remembered today by Assam Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who marked the occasion with a tribute on Sunday, 27 September 2026.
A founding father the BJP holds close
Jaswant Singh was among the early architects of the BJP when the party was founded in 1980. He rose through its ranks to become one of the most recognisable faces of the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-era National Democratic Alliance government — holding the portfolios of Defence, External Affairs, and Finance at different points. Few politicians of that generation straddled the security and economic establishments with comparable range.
CM Sarma described him as 'one of the stalwarts of Indian politics and one of the founding fathers of our party,' adding that his work for the poor and his contributions to strengthening India's defence apparatus 'will always be cherished.'
The defence tenure that defined an era
Singh served as Defence Minister from 1998 to 2000, a period that included the Kargil conflict — one of the most defining military episodes of post-independence India. His stewardship of the defence establishment during that charged window gave his legacy a particular weight within the party. For BJP workers who came of age during the Vajpayee years, his name is inseparable from that chapter of national security.
He passed away on 27 September 2020, and his death anniversary — punyatithi — has since become a recurring moment for BJP leaders across the country to recall his contributions publicly.
A party that remembers its own
The BJP has cultivated a deliberate practice of marking the anniversaries of its founding figures, and Sarma — as NEDA convenor and one of the party's most prominent voices in the Northeast — is a consistent participant in those rituals. The tributes serve a dual purpose: honouring the individual and reinforcing the party's sense of institutional continuity from its founding generation to its current leadership.
Jaswant Singh's legacy is a reminder that the BJP's story is not only one of electoral politics but of men and women who shaped India's foreign policy, its defence posture, and its fiscal architecture in the years the country was still finding its post-liberalisation footing.
Point of View
Not just recent electoral dominance. Singh's unusual breadth across Defence, External Affairs, and Finance makes him a particularly potent symbol: he represents the era when the BJP first proved it could manage the full range of state power. For Sarma, whose own influence stretches across the Northeast via NEDA, aligning himself with founding-generation figures also signals ideological continuity with the party's original architects. The ritual of the punyatithi tribute quietly stitches the current leadership to a founding myth.
NationPress
27 Sept 2026
Frequently Asked Questions
When did Jaswant Singh pass away?
Jaswant Singh passed away on 27 September 2020 . Sunday, 27 September 2026 marks his sixth death anniversary.
What portfolios did Jaswant Singh hold in the central government?
Jaswant Singh served as Union Minister for Defence (1998–2000), External Affairs, and Finance in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee-led NDA government.
Was Jaswant Singh a founding member of the BJP?
Yes. Jaswant Singh was among the early and prominent members of the Bharatiya Janata Party , which was founded in 1980 .
Why did Himanta Biswa Sarma pay tribute to Jaswant Singh?
Assam CM Himanta Biswa Sarma paid tribute on Jaswant Singh's punyatithi (death anniversary), recalling his role as a party founder and his contributions to India's defence and welfare of the poor.
