From HT Archives: In BJP, a political behemoth is born

The Janata Party has been formally split, creating the Bharatiya Janata Party, with Atal Behari Vajpayee as its first President. The new party will have a separate constitution, election symbol, and flag. Vajpayee announced Vijaya Raje Scindia and Ram Jethmalani as two of the three vice-presidents. The party will focus on rural development and fulfilling the aspirations of Jayaprakash Narayan. Vajpayee urged opposition parties to field single candidates against the Congress-I in assembly elections. The first task of the new party will be to mobilize the Indian people to meet the growing challenge of “dynastic dictatorship.”