Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who had been admitted to the AIIMS hospital in New Delhi for the past few weeks, died on Thursday. He was 93.

Mr. Vajpayee was admitted to the AIIMS  on June 11  with a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection, low urine output and chest congestion.

A 10.30 a.m. bulletin released by AIIMS on Thursday said that he was critical and on life support systems. His condition had worsened since August 14, an official statement by AIIMS said on Wednesday evening.

Mr. Vajpayee had suffered a stroke in 2009 that weakened his cognitive abilities. Subsequently, he developed dementia.

On Thusday morning Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu and BJP leaders, including Home Minister Rajnath Singh and party national president Amit Shah, had visited AIIMS to enquire about his health. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia also visited the hospital. Bihar Chief Minister Nitish Kumar was expected to arrive later in the day.

Mr. Vajpayee was the first BJP leader to be sworn-in as the prime minister and the first non-Congress PM to complete five year term.

Born on December 25, 1924 in Gwalior, Mr. Vajpayee was elected 10 times to the Lok Sabha from four different States (the first time in 1957 from Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh), and was twice a Member of the Rajya Sabha in a storied career.

One of the founding members of the Jan Sangh in 1951, Mr. Vajpayee became its president in 1968 upon the  death  of Deendayal Upadhyaya.

This article was published first in The Hindu.

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