New Delhi, Dec 25 (UNI) Atal Bihari Vajpayee was the first prime minister of the country to realise the power of internet and use it for election campaigning, renowned industrialist and social activist Manish Khemka has said. Today is the 96th birth anniversary of late Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee.
Mr Khemka said Vajpayee was the only candidate in the then Parliamentary elections, that was not only real but also virtual. He said that on July 27, 1999, a website focused on his election campaign, Vote for Atal.com was inaugurated by film actor Vinod Khanna at the BJP headquarters in Uttar Pradesh.
Born on December 25, 1924, Vajpayee, was the 10th Prime Minister, first for 13 days in 1996 and then from 1998 to 2004. One of the founders of the Bharatiya Janata Party, he was the first non-Indian National Congress Prime Minister to serve a full five-year term. At 93, Vajpayee was the oldest living former Indian Prime Minister. He was elected to the Lok Sabha 10 times, and twice to the Rajya Sabha. He was also one of the founders of the Jan Sangh and was its president from 1968 to 1973.
Mr Khemka said he was fortunate enough to become part of the digital revolution now, under the able leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
