Lal Krishna Advani (born 8 November 1927), widely known as L. K. Advani, is an Indian politician and co-founder of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He was a key architect of its rise from two seats in Parliament to a party of government. His 1990 Ram Rath Yatra made him one of the most influential figures in modern Indian politics. He served as Home Minister and Deputy Prime Minister under Atal Bihari Vajpayee and was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2024.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Lal Krishna Advani |
| Born | 8 November 1927, Karachi, Sindh, British India (now Pakistan) |
| Age | 98 |
| Party | Bharatiya Janata Party (co-founder) |
| Offices | Deputy Prime Minister (2002–2004); Home Minister (1998–2004) |
| BJP president | 1986–1991, 1993–1998, 2004–2005 |
| Constituency | Gandhinagar (Lok Sabha) |
| Spouse | Kamla Advani (d. 2016) |
| Children | Jayant, Pratibha |
| Honours | Padma Vibhushan (2015), Bharat Ratna (2024) |
Early Life
Advani was born into a Sindhi Hindu family in Karachi. He joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) as a teenager in 1942. After Partition in 1947 he moved to India, where he worked as an RSS organiser in Rajasthan and later as a journalist with the Organiser weekly.
Political Career
Advani rose through the Bharatiya Jana Sangh and entered the Rajya Sabha in 1970. He was jailed during the Emergency. In the Janata Party government of 1977–79 he served as Minister of Information and Broadcasting.
In 1980 Advani and Atal Bihari Vajpayee co-founded the BJP. After the party won only two seats in 1984, Advani became president in 1986 and steered it towards a more assertive Hindutva agenda. In September 1990 he launched the Ram Rath Yatra from Somnath in Gujarat to build support for a Ram temple in Ayodhya. He was arrested in Bihar before the yatra reached Ayodhya. The BJP’s seats rose to 86 in 1989 and 120 in 1991. Advani was among those charged after the demolition of the Babri Masjid in December 1992. A special CBI court acquitted all the accused in 2020.
When the BJP-led NDA came to power in 1998, Advani became Home Minister, and in 2002 Deputy Prime Minister. He was the BJP’s prime ministerial candidate in 2009, but the party lost. After 2014 he moved into the party’s advisory “Margdarshak Mandal”. He represented Gandhinagar in the Lok Sabha until 2019.
Personal Life
Advani married Kamla in 1965. She died in 2016. They have two children, Jayant and Pratibha. His autobiography, My Country My Life, was published in 2008. In 2024 the government awarded him the Bharat Ratna, which was presented to him at his home in Delhi.
Key Offices Held
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was L. K. Advani born?
L. K. Advani was born on 8 November 1927 in Karachi, Sindh, British India (now Pakistan).
What honours has L. K. Advani received?
Padma Vibhushan (2015), Bharat Ratna (2024).
