On 101st birth anniversary, rivals recall being in awe of Vajpayee, say he was without enemies, only rivals

Lucknow: Atal Bihari Vajpayee spent six decades in politics, was among the strongest opposition voice for years before becoming the first man to be prime minister without ever joining the Congress. That should bring a fair share of adversaries.

Instead, many of his rivals swear that he was without enemies and some even admitted that they were in awe of him.

Despite being a three-time prime minister, Vajpayee built a reputation of being the 'Ajatshatru' in political circles -- one who has no enemies -- and political opponents who contested against him simply conceded.

"I remember starting my campaign declaring that Atal ji was the 'Bhishma pitamah' of Indian politics," prominent Lucknow gynaecologist Dr Madhu Gupta, who contested on a Samajwadi Party ticket and lost to Vajpayee in 2004, told PTI on the BJP stalwart's 101st birth anniversary.

Vajpayee was elected Lucknow's Lok Sabha MP for five consecutive terms -- in 1991, 1996, 1998, 1999 and 2004.

Vajpayee was the PM for 13 days in May 1996, then had a 13-month term in 1998-1999, before becoming the first non-Congress leader to complete a full five-year term (1999-2004). Ill health after the 2004 general elections gradually forced him out of active politics.

"Those were different times. Atal ji was a thorough gentleman. It was a healthy contest in 2004 and since I was pitted against the great leader, we were extra careful about the language used during the campaign. Not a single indecent or foul word was used by either side to target the other," Gupta recalled.

"Atal ji was the PM and though I wasn't nervous taking him on, I also knew that Atal ji's fan base cut across party lines," she added.

Actor-turned-politician Raj Babbar who fought against Vajpayee in 1996 said that he knew at the outset that the contest was a mere formality.

"The moment SP named me as a candidate against Atal ji from Lucknow, I knew the electoral outcome was a foregone conclusion," he said, adding that the thought of contesting against a stalwart, whose speeches he had grown up hearing, was a bit perplexing.

"As class 10 students, we would run to Agra's Surajbhan ka Phatak to hear his speeches, assimilate its contents," Babbar said, adding that Vajpayee's speeches helped him prepare for school and college debates.

"His pronunciation, diction, the art of pregnant pauses during oratory were all aspects we tried to imbibe," added Babbar, now a Congress leader.

Babbar shared an interesting anecdote on the day he was named SP candidate against Vajpayee.

"After filing my nomination papers from Lucknow, as I boarded the flight to Mumbai, I found Atal ji on the same flight, sitting just in front of me on seat 1F. I instantly bent down to touch his feet. But he didn't bless me. With folded hands I requested him to bless me," Babbar said.

"I told Atal ji that I won't be able to forgive myself even if a slip of tongue led to use of indecent language against him. Atal ji smiled and said he knew I won't ever do that," he recalled.

Babbar said he learnt from Vajpayee that a political opponent was not an enemy.

"After 1996, when I was again offered a chance to contest against Atal ji, I flatly refused. Few years later, he was the PM, I was a Rajya Sabha MP. When I met him Atal ji, he praised my conduct during the 1996 election," he said.

Ratnesh Gupta, whose father and former mayor Dauji Gupta contested Vajpayee on a BSP ticket in 1998 Lok Sabha polls, told PTI, "My father and Atal ji shared a close relationship. Atal ji would visit our Ganeshganj home. So there was no animosity during the polls." Ratnesh shared an anecdote from the 1998 campaign. Once when the motorcade of both leaders happened to cross each other, his father told his workers to let Vajpayee's fleet pass first, he said.

"Atal ji acknowledged the gesture with his trademark smile and a wave of hand. Later, when the two leaders met separately, Atal ji recalled the incident and jokingly remarked, "Siyasat main raasta chorna acchi baat nahin (it's not wise to give way in politics)' and my father replied that 'obstructing others isn't good too'." "Both shared a good laugh," Ratnesh recalled.

Former UP deputy CM Dinesh Sharma recalled Vajpayee's simplicity.

"Once he visited us, and I was so nervous that I ended up spilling some 'kheer' on Atal ji's clothes. But Atal ji simply smiled and made me feel at ease," Sharma said. Vajpayee's political journey depicted the essence of development of modern India.

Sharma, now a Rajya Sabha MP, said, "Atal Bihari Vajpayee had opponents, but no enemies." "To the world, he was the prime minister who reshaped India, to the public, he was excellent orator, but to me and to the people of Lucknow, he was simply 'Atal' --- unwavering, a gentle and great personality, and a fatherly guide who taught us that the actual centre of power lies in the strength of heart," Sharma said.