Former Indian Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee who was in a critical condition and on life support for more than 24 hours has breathed his last, the All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi has announced.
His health deteriorated over the past 24 hours according to the Institute.
“His condition is critical and he is on life support system,” Dr Aarti Vij, chairperson of media and protocol division, said late on Wednesday.
The BJP stalwart was admitted to AIIMS on June 11, after he was diagnosed with a kidney tract infection and urinary tract infection, and is currently undergoing treatment at India’s premier medical institute.
Party members were seen visiting the former Prime Minister at the hospital since Wednesday evening.
India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a visit to the hospital on Wednesday evening and again on Thursday noon while Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu visited AIIMS to inquire about the former PM’s health on Thursday morning.
Apart from PM Modi and VP Naidu, federal ministers Rajnath Singh, Sushma Swaraj, Suresh Prabhu, Piyush Goyal, Harsh Vardhan, Jitendra Singh and Ashwini Kumar Choubey also visited the hospital.
BJP leaders Amit Shah and LK Advani also reached the hospital to meet the former Prime Minister.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi said his passing away marks the end of an era.
Congress President Rahul Gandhi said India had lost a great son.
Atal Bihari Vajpayee was among the founding members of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh which he also headed from 1968 to 1972.
He was the Minister of External Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Morarji Desai.
When the Janata government collapsed, Vajpayee restructured the Jana Sangh into the Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) in 1980.
The 93-year-old has twice served as India’s Prime Minister and was conferred India's highest civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, by the President of India in 2014.
The Modi government declared Vajpayee's birthday, December 25th, as Good Governance Day the same year.
He has been a Member of Parliament for over four decades, being elected to the Lok Sabha ten times, and twice to the Rajya Sabha.
He served as an MP for Lucknow until 2009 when he retired from active politics due to health concerns.
(This story was updated after former prime minister's demise)
