A movement that reshaped modern India's political map began on a chariot in Somnath, Gujarat, in 1990 — and Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath counts himself fortunate to have been part of it. On Sunday, 8 November 2026, Yogi took to X to mark a milestone that few political careers ever reach: former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani entering his hundredth year of life.

Sharing a special article penned by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and published to mark the occasion, Yogi wrote — 'श्रद्धेय आडवाणी जी विपक्ष में जितने प्रखर नेता रहे, प्रशासन में भी उतने ही कुशल साबित हुए' — 'Revered Advani Ji was as sharp a leader in the opposition as he was skilled in administration.' He called the Ram Rath Yatra — Advani's historic procession from Somnath to Ayodhya — 'a historic chapter' in the veteran leader's life, one that gave Indian society 'a positive direction.'

The Yatra That Changed BJP's Trajectory

The 1990 Ram Rath Yatra was more than a political rally on wheels. Advani led the procession across the country to mobilise support for the Ram Janmabhoomi movement in Ayodhya, and it transformed the Bharatiya Janata Party from a marginal force into a mass political movement. The yatra was eventually halted mid-route, but the energy it unleashed rewired India's electoral politics for decades to come.

Yogi's personal note — that he considers himself 'fortunate' to have had the chance to join that historic journey — is not just ceremonial. It plants him directly in the lineage of that movement, linking the ideological campaign of the 1990s to the governance narrative he now helms from Lucknow.

Bharat Ratna, a Century, and Modi's Tribute in Print

Advani, who served as Deputy Prime Minister of India and was awarded the Bharat Ratna — the country's highest civilian honour — in 2024, is a figure whose political career spans the entire post-Independence era of the BJP. PM Modi's special article, published to coincide with Advani's centenary year, described the occasion as an 'inspiring journey towards a century... an emotional moment'.

Yogi's post amplifies that tribute to his own audience, framing Advani not merely as a party elder but as the architect of a cause whose completion — the Ram Mandir in Ayodhya — Advani lived to witness.

At a hundred, few leaders get to see the seeds of a lifetime's work bloom in brick and stone. Lal Krishna Advani is one of them — and the tributes pouring in from India's current leadership suggest his centenary year will be anything but quiet.