Atal Bihari Vajpayee held the post of prime minister for three non-consecutive terms in 1996, 1998-99, and from 1999-2004, although he had been involved in public life since 1957. He was elected 10 times to the Lok Sabha from four different States and was also a member of Rajya Sabha twice.
In his late teens, he was involved with the Quit India Movement in 1942. He was one of the founders of Jan Sangh in 1957, the right-wing organisation that merged with several other parties to form the Janata Party during the 1975 Emergency period. Jan Sangh also played a crucial role in shaping modern-day BJP, often considered its successor.
