By: Express News ServiceNew Delhi | Updated: December 25, 2025 05:13 AM IST 3 min readAtal Bihari Vajpayee and L K Advani may have been two halves of the BJP’s famed duo but there was a time, in the late 1980s, when the former Prime Minister had contemplated forming his own political party. This was when Advani was on the rise, after Vajpayee had lost his own election from Gwalior at a time when the BJP could win just two Lok Sabha seats in 1984. However, the thought of branching out was short-lived and Vajpayee decided to stick with the BJP.Such anecdotes and more were shared by senior journalist Neerja Chowdhury as she delivered a public lecture on the Life and Contribution of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, on the eve of the former PM’s birth anniversary, at the Prime Ministers’ Museum and Library Wednesday.Another anecdote that touched upon the occasional tension in the relations of the two longtime associates pertained to Pokhran-2, India’s nuclear test, conducted in 1998. Vajpayee had shared the matter with his principal secretary Brajesh Mishra and also the three service chiefs, but Advani, who had known him for the longest time, was not taken in the loop, Chowdhury said. The Cabinet colleagues were informed just two days in advance that India would go in for a nuclear test, but still not told the date, she added.Read | Long arc of Advani journey: Ayodhya Yatra to BJP architect, Vajpayee No. 2 to fade-outChowdhury said that when she went to meet Advani at North Block on May 11, 1998, she found him sitting alone – rather than with party workers, and celebrating the milestone – and looking very hurt. She recalled that he had tears in his eyes because, despite the old association, several memories together, and the party’s longstanding commitment to the nuclear test, Advani was not kept in the loop.Chowdhury recounted how Vajpayee’s good relations across the board made him increasingly influential in the 1990s.She said former PM P V Narasimha Rao and Vajpayee shared very close terms, either because of a “Brahminical bond” between them or because they had known each other well since the time the latter was the Minister of External Affairs in 1977.Stay updated with the latest - Click here to follow us on Instagram© The Indian Express Pvt LtdTags:Atal Bihari VajpayeeL K Advani