Atal Bihari Vajpayee admitted to AIIMS for urinary tract infection, nation prays for him
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Earlier, the hospital had said that Vajpayee was admitted for a routine check-up and that his condition was stable. A team of doctors under the supervision of AIIMS director Randeep Guleria were attending to the nonagenarian leader, a statement from the hospital had said.
A host of leaders including Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the BJP leader at the hospital. The PM met the doctors and enquired about the well-being of Vajpayee. He also met his family members and spent nearly 50 minutes at the hospital.
BJP veteran LK Advani, BJP president Amit Shah, Home Minister Rajnath Singh, Health Minister JP Nadda, Environment Minister Harsh Vardhan and Congress chief Rahul Gandhi were among those who paid a visit to the ailing leader.
As news of the former PM's health spread, many, including political leaders and common people prayed for his recovery.
On 25 December 2014, Vajpayee was awarded the Bharat Ratna - India's highest civilian honour. The then President Pranab Mukherjee had conferred the award to Vajpayee at his residence on 27 March 2015.
Vajpayee, who was PM briefly in 1996 and then from 1998 to 2004, has retreated from active politics over the last few years due to failing health conditions. He was the first non-Congress PM to serve a full five-year term. Along with Advani, Vajpayee took the BJP from two seats in the Lok Sabha to power at the Centre.
He first entered the Lok Sabha in 1957. He was then elected to the 5th, 6th and 7th Lok Sabha and again to the 10th, 11th 12th and 13th and to Rajya Sabha in 1962 and 1986. In 2004, he won from Lucknow in Uttar Pradesh for the fifth time consecutively.
At age 93, he is currently the oldest living former PM.