The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) was formed on April 6, 1980 with former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the first party President. Earlier Bharatiya Jana Sangh (BJS), founded by Syama Prasad Mookerjee, had merged itself into the Janata Party in 1977. However, due to internal differences in Janata Party, the Janata government collapsed, and BJP became a separate party.