Atal sees recovery from crisis with new BJP chief

Former PM characterised Rajnath's appointment as a transition from a crisis since the party's electoral rout in 2004.

Hailing the new BJP chief Rajnath Singh, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Friday characterised his appointment as a transition from a crisis since the party's electoral rout in 2004.

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"There is a change in climate. Snow is melting away and the sun is changing its course," Vajpayee remarked as he developed his trademark literary imagery to welcome Singh's appointment as a new beginning for the party.

"A new beginning has ushered in. It's a transition from a crisis, a change for good," the former Prime Minister said after the BJP ratified Singh's appointment as its new president.

Despite his comments on the BJP's condition before the leadership change, Vajpayee also praised former party president LK Advani for his term as party president.

He thanked the former Deputy Prime Minister for his "guidance" to the party as its head.

In his presidential speech to the party, Singh also referred to Vajpayee a number of times, recalling the NDA government's foreign, economic and domestic policies.

Singh referred to Advani for his Ram temple movement in 1989.