Kotputli (Rajasthan) [India], April 6 (ANI): Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Sunday attended 'Maha Mrityunjaya Rudra Mahayagya Maha Poornahuti Samaroh' at Baba Balnath Ashram in Pawta, Kotputli in Rajasthan.

Chief Minister Bhajanlal Sharma and Baba Bastinath, the disciple of Baba Balnath, were also also present at the event.

Addressing a public event, Shah said, 'I would like to bow down to Baba Basti Nath ji for the work he has done. Many saints, great men, and sages have emerged in this country. Baba Balnath ji was also such a great warrior who was born on this land and established 84 religions (Kul) in the country and across the world...'

Shah also said that Baba Bastinath, like his guru, took initiatives such as public welfare and environmental conservation.

'I am here to take the blessings of Baba Bastinath ji,' he added.

Earlier today, Union Home Minister Amit Shah paid tribute to the founders of Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Deendayal Upadhyaya, in Ahmedabad on the 46th foundation day of Bharatiya Janata Party. Shah was accompanied by his wife, Sonal Shah.

Bharatiya Jana Sangh was the precursor of the BJP. It was started in 1950 by former Union Minister Syama Prasad Mookerjee and Deen Dayal Upadhyaya, who laid the foundation of the party's ideology.

Amit Shah also congratulated party workers and highlighted how the 'lotus symbol had become a new emblem of trust and hope in the hearts of the countrymen'.

Posting about the party's foundation day on X, Shah wrote, Today, under the leadership of (PM) Modi, the lotus symbol has become a new emblem of trust and hope in the hearts of the countrymen. The works of service, security, and cultural awakening that the BJP has undertaken in the past decade will become milestones in the days to come.'

'Crores of BJP workers, steadfastly adhering to ideological commitment, will continue to contribute to nation-building,' he said.

The Jana Sangh merged with the Janata Party after the end of the Emergency in 1977, with the aim to defeat Congress. Later on, the question of 'dual membership' was raised between the RSS members and the Jana Sangh, with the ask that either the Jana Sangh members should leave the Janata Party or their membership of RSS. Regarding the issue, the Jana Sangh members left the Janata Party and officially founded the BJP on April 6, 1980.

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has had two Prime Ministers since its formation: Narendra Modi and Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

In the 1996, 1998, and 1999 Lok Sabha elections, the party emerged as the single largest party. In the 2019 Lok Sabha, the party won 303 seats, the most in the party's history and in the 2024 parliamentary elections the BJP bagged a total of 240 seats. (ANI)