It has been 55 years since Deenadayalji said goodbye. His legendary struggles and efforts to bring a new face to the Indian political scene is a personality that any public servant should know and study. That life is an encyclopedia for a new politician entering the public arena. Followers of national politics must remember Deen Dayalji whenever he holds office.
He always stood behind the curtain and created many leaders who were full of leadership without being a leader himself. Atalji, Advaniji, Nanaji Deshmukh, Sundar Singh Bhandariji, Bachraj Vyas, Gwalior Rajmata, and countless others. Any little kid knows them all. But few know Deenadayalji who made them what they are. He remained the party's sole general secretary for 17 years from its founding until becoming the national president of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh 41 days before his assassination. When the Union HRD Ministry sent a circular to the states to organize programs about him in colleges, questions were raised as to who he was.
Atalji's and Modiji's governments have adopted the guideline of "Ekatma Manava Vadam" put forward by him as the basic document of their policies. It was through his works that people began to hear the policy of "Antyodaya".
What did he achieve for the party in that victory journey without the fame?
In the 1967 Lok Sabha elections, the party became the second largest party in the country after the Congress in terms of total vote share of the Jana Sangh. Third largest party in Lok Sabha. It became an independent party, which came second after the ruling Congress. The Jan Sangh, which won 35 seats, brought Maharathas like Atalji, Balraj Madhok, Kanwarlal Gupta, ML Sondhi and Hukum Chand Kachwai to the Lok Sabha.
The peculiarity of that time must be remembered when the Jana Sangh secured the second position in the total vote share at the national level. The influence of the Congress, which led the freedom struggle, did not suffer much. The influence of the Nehru family also prevailed. His daughter and Prime Minister Mrs. Indira Gandhi led that election campaign for the Congress. At that time, joint Vidhyak Dal governments came into being in several states with the Jana Sangh as partners in the CPI coalition government.
His daily routine was Deendayal style popularly known as Gandhian style.
Workers used to say that Deen Dayalji was inside if they saw an old shoe stitched outside the party offices. Seeing the poor condition of the shoes, an activist took pity on him and offered to buy him a new pair of shoes. Deen Dayalji's witty reply to that is noteworthy: "Are you donating me a pair of sandals, run away and get some ladoo, everyone can eat".
Deenadayalji once left the party office to cut his hair and returned very soon. Ready to answer the worker's question: "There is a lot of traffic in the barber shop. When he gets out and looks for another shop, there he is sitting in an alley, a barber, a big stone instead of a chair. The mirror should be held by the customer himself against his face. The charge is only one-third of the store charge. An income for that poor man, My case was soon over. And I was able to understand the economics of those living at that standard by asking them in person.” It is important here that this was the time when he was preparing the "Ekatma Manava Vadam".
