Those who know Atal closely say that he is a man of great depth and oftentimes his speeches and actions reflected his poetic and other deep thoughts. A good example of this is that when the BJP came into being, Atal zeroed in on the kamal, lotus, as the symbol for the party. Just as the lotus grows in mud but is itself untainted by the muck around, he wanted the BJP to be a party of principles, above the muck in politics.
