A hundred years in the making — and Tripura Chief Minister Dr. Manik Saha marked the occasion with reverence on Sunday, 8 November 2026, as Lal Krishna Advani stepped into his centenary year. Saha offered what he called his 'most profound and affectionate birthday wishes' to the former Deputy Prime Minister, invoking the blessings of Maa Tripura Sundari for Advani's robust health and longevity.

The architect who built the BJP's national footprint

Lal Krishna Advani is among the most consequential figures in independent India's political history. As a founding force of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he shepherded the organisation from a marginal parliamentary presence in the early 1980s to a dominant national force — a transformation that reshaped Indian electoral politics for decades.

Dr. Saha's tribute underscores this arc directly: 'Our political organisation ascended to unprecedented heights under his visionary foresight and steadfast guidance.' For BJP workers across the country, that rise is inseparable from one defining moment.

The Rath Yatra that rewrote Indian politics

In 1990, Advani launched his landmark Rath Yatra — a chariot procession traversing thousands of kilometres across India — to mobilise support for the Ram Janmabhoomi campaign in Ayodhya. The yatra galvanised millions, dramatically expanded BJP's grassroots base, and planted the Ram temple cause at the centre of mainstream political discourse.

Saha describes it as a moment that 'successfully awakened national consciousness, uniting millions in dedicated support of the sacred Ram Janmabhoomi and carving an imperishable chapter into the annals of our nation's heritage.' That chapter, in BJP's telling, culminated decades later with the consecration of the Ram temple in Ayodhya.

Bharat Ratna and a legacy for Karyakartas

Advani was conferred the Bharat Ratna — India's highest civilian honour — a recognition that cemented his stature beyond party lines. Dr. Saha's tribute pointedly frames his legacy not as a political achievement alone but as a moral compass: 'His profound, unselfish dedication to our motherland, his unwavering adherence to principled ideals, and his lifelong commitment to the well-being of every citizen continue to shine as an enduring guiding light for countless Karyakartas devoted to national service.'

The tribute closes on a deeply personal note, with the Chief Minister seeking divine grace from Maa Tripura Sundari — the presiding deity of Tripura — for Advani's health. It is a gesture that roots a national tribute in unmistakably local devotion.

As the BJP's senior statesmen age and the party's newer generation takes the helm across states, tributes like this one serve a dual purpose: honouring a founding father and reminding the cadre of the ideological DNA from which the movement was forged. Advani's centenary year promises to be a season of exactly that reckoning.