Former Indian prime minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee died on Thursday, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences said. He was admitted to Delhi’s AIIMS in June. He was 93.
Earlier in the morning, the hospital had said his health condition was critical and he was on life support systems. It had put out a similar press release on Wednesday evening.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Vajpayee’s former deputy LK Advani, BJP President Amit Shah, and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal have visited AIIMS over the last two days to enquire about Vajpayee’s health.
Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has died:AIIMS.
— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) August 16, 2018
The former prime minister was admitted to the facility in June with a urinary tract infection, a lower respiratory tract infection and kidney-related ailments but the hospital had said days later that he was recovering.
The BJP veteran was a diabetic and had one functional kidney. He had suffered a stroke in 2009, which reportedly weakened his cognitive abilities, following which he developed dementia.
Vajpayee was the prime minister between 1998 and 2004 when the National Democratic Alliance government was in power. The government conferred the Bharat Ratna, India’s highest civilian honour, on him in 2015.
