Atal Bihari Vajpayee was an Indian politician who served thrice as Prime Minister of India, first from 16 May to 1 June 1996, and then from 19 March 1998 to 22 May 2004.
After the 1996 general election, the BJP emerged as the single largest party in the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament.
In the 1998 Indian general election the BJP again emerged as the single-largest party, but was able to assemble a governing coalition called the National Democratic Alliance (NDA).
Public anger against smaller parties that jeopardised the NDA coalition and the wave of support for the Vajpayee government in the aftermath of the Kargil War gave the BJP a larger presence in the Lok Sabha.
The NDA won a decisive majority with the support of new constituents such as the Janata Dal (United) and the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam.
The Vajpayee government improved India's ties with the People's Republic of China, boosting trade and seeking the resolution of territorial disputes through dialogue.
In 1999, Vajpayee personally travelled to Pakistan on the inaugural Delhi-Lahore Bus, which established a regular road link between the two countries for the first time since 1947.
Vajpayee and the then-Pakistani Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif issued the Lahore Declaration, which committed the two nations to resolve bilateral disputes through dialogue and concurrently boost trade.
In 2001, Vajpayee and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf held the Agra summit, which failed to produce results and was overshadowed by the 2001-2002 India-Pakistan standoff.
These tests established India as a nuclear weapons power, although it also resulted in the imposition of limited sanctions by the U.S., UK, Canada and other nations.
Although a tougher anti-terrorism law than Terrorist and Disruptive Activities (Prevention) Act, POTA was criticised as compromising civil liberties and encouraging profiling of the Indian Muslim community.
[11][12][13] The state government, led by Narendra Modi of the BJP, was severely criticised for being unable or unwilling to stop the violence.