 During a BJP conference in Mumbai in November 1995, BJP President Advani declared that Vajpayee would be the party's Prime Ministerial candidate in the forthcoming elections.Vajpayee himself was reported to be unhappy with the announcement, responding by saying that the party needed to win the election first.The BJP became the single largest party in Parliament in the 1996 general election, helped by religious polarisation across the country as a result of the demolition of the Babri Masjid.