Atal Bihari Vajpayee was good at attracting the crowd and people loved listening to his speeches, which included shayaris (poetic phrases) and anecdotes.
Former prime minister of India Atal Bihari Vajpayee is no more. He was 93, and breathed his last at AIIMS in Delhi after prolonged illness. It is said that BJP leader Vajpayee did not have any enemies. He won the hearts of people and leaders alike with his intelligence, poetry and good administration.
He was good at attracting the crowd and people loved listening to his speeches, which included shayaris (poetic phrases) and anecdotes. In one such speech in Ballari, Karnataka, in August 1999, while campaigning for BJP leader Sushma Swaraj, Vajpayee spoke in Kannada.
Sushma Swaraj had contested against Congress leader Sonia Gandhi in 1999 and Ballari became a highlight in Indian politics because of the fierce contest. Swaraj lost the election that year, but Vajpayee's speech in Kannada received loud applause by the people of Karnataka.
Watch the video of Vajpayee addressing the people of Ballari in Kannada: