The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Friday paid tributes to former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee on his first death anniversary at his memorial Sadaiv Atal in Delhi.

One of the biggest leaders and founder member of the BJP, Vajpayee breathed his last on August 16, last year. He succumbed to his prolonged illness at the age of 93, at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS).

President Ram Nath Kovind, Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah, BJP national working president JP Nadda and other leaders of the party paid tributes to Vajpayee at his memorial.

Playback singer Hariharan performed at the event that was also marked by Vajpayee’s adopted daughter Namita Kaul Bhattacharya and granddaughter Niharika. Hymns and devotional music was being played at Vajpayee’s memorial which was dedicated to the nation in December last year.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the tenth Prime Minister of India, led the National Democratic Alliance government from 1998 to 2004. He was the first ever leader from the BJP to have become the country’s Prime Minister. He served as Prime Minister thrice – briefly in 1996, and then for two terms between 1998 and 2004.

Vajpayee’s birth anniversary, that falls on December 25, is celebrated as ”Good Governance Day” by the party.

Vajpayee, who was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2014, had taken a back seat from politics over the few years before his death because of his ill health.

The former PM was a poet at heart and his poems are still remembered by many. He is also known for his motivational quotes.