The legendary Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away at New Delhi's All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) on Thursday. He worked tirelessly to help BJP become a force to reckon with. This was witnessed during his visit to Karnataka's Raichur district in the 1980s.

In 1981, Atal Bihari Vajpayee travelled across India to strengthen BJP. He decided to stop at Karnataka's Raichur district on November 12. His train scheduled to arrive around midnight in the chilling cold. And yet, hundreds gathered to greet the leader at the railway station.

Atal Bihari Vajpayee was elated to find out that thousands more had gathered to get a glimpse of the leader at the district stadium in the middle of the night. "I was late thanks to the roads here. This is the gift Congress has given you," he said taking a dig at the opposition. 

After resting at the district's guest house, he had breakfast with BJP leaders and part workers before starting for Ballari.