Nation first, party next, self last: LK Advani in his blog post

Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) veteran Lal Krishna Advani, after being denied a ticket to contest the 2019 Lok Sabha Elections, on Thursday sent across a message, saying “Nation first, party next, self last” in a blog post.

“The guiding principle of my life has been ‘Nation First, Party Next, Self Last.’And in all situations, I have tried to adhere to this principle and will continue to do so,” emphasised Advani. He also urged his party to “look back, look ahead and look within”.

“Advani Ji perfectly sums up the true essence of BJP, most notably the guiding Mantra of ‘Nation First, Party Next, Self Last’,” tweeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi in response to Advani’s blog.

The blog comes almost five years after Advani penned the last post on its web page. Advani further conveyed his “most sincere gratitude to the people of Gandhinagar, who have elected me to the Lok Sabha six times since 1991. Their love and support has always overwhelmed me.”

Remembering his days with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the BJP leader wrote that,  “My political life has been inseparably associated with my Party for nearly seven decades — first with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, and later with the Bharatiya Janata Party and I have been a founding member of both. It has been my rare privilege to work closely with stalwarts like Pandit Deendayal Upadhyaya, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee and many other great, inspiring and selfless leaders.”

“The essence of Indian democracy is respect for diversity and freedom of expression. Right from its inception, the BJP has never regarded those who disagree with us politically as our “enemies”, but only as our adversaries,” Advani further added talking about the nature of democracy.