Senior BJP leader Ram Kapse passed away due to prolonged illness at the age of 82. Kapse, born on December 1, 1933, had earlier served as Lt Governor of Andaman and Nicobar Islands. He was a prominent leader of BJP in Maharashtra and represented Thane in the ninth and tenth Lok Sabhas. In his condolence message, Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis said he was saddened by the demise of the senior leader who was a great parliamentarian and an inspiration. BJP president Amit Shah tweeted: “Express my deepest condolences to the family of Shri Ram Kapse ji our senior leader & former Lt. Gov of Andaman & Nicobar on his sad demise.”

Bharatiya Janata Party

• The BJP’s origins lie in the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, formed in 1951 by Syama Prasad Mookerjee.
• After the State of Emergency in 1977, the Jana Sangh merged with several other parties to form the Janata Party; it defeated the incumbent Congress party in the 1977 general election.
• The Janata party dissolved in 1980 with the members of the erstwhile Jana Sangh reconvening to form the BJP.
• Although initially unsuccessful, winning only two seats in the 1984 general election, it grew in strength on the back of the Ram Janmabhoomi movement.
• The official ideology of the BJP is “integral humanism”, first formulated by Deendayal Upadhyaya in 1965.

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