Atal Bihari Vajpayee on Life Support as Health Worsens in Last 24 Hours, PM Modi Visits Him at AIIMS

New Delhi: Ex-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee is critical and has been put on life support system after his health deteriorated in the last one day, AIIMS said in a statement on Wednesday night.

"Former Prime Minister Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee has been admitted for the last nine weeks at AIIMS. Unfortunately his condition has worsened over the last 24 hours. His condition is critical and he is on life support system," Dr Aarti Vij said in a press release.

The health update came hours after Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the AIIMS on Wednesday evening to inquire about the condition of his political mentor. Modi reached the hospital at around 7.15 pm and spent about 50 minutes there. This was his fourth visit since Vajpayee got admitted at the hospital on June 11.

Union ministers Piyush Goyal, Suresh Prabhu, Jitendra Singh and Harsh Vardhan, and BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi also visited the hospital to check on Vajpayee. Earlier in the evening, Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani was also seen at AIIMS.

Suresh Prabhu tweeted that he had visited AIIMS to inquire about Vajapayee’s health. “Discussed with the medical team .Praying to God that he responds to treatment and recovers soon. Millions of people are praying for him.#GetWellAtalji," he wrote.

Vajpayee was admitted at AIIMS with a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection, low urine output and chest congestion. The 93-year-old Bharatiya Janata Party leader, a diabetic, has only one functional kidney.

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

The 1924-born leader is under the supervision of Dr Randeep Guleria, a pulmonologist and currently the Director of AIIMS. Guleria has served as personal physician to Vajpayee for over three decades. Union Home Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP National president Amit Shah had visited Vajpayee on Saturday.

Vajpayee was thrice elected the Prime Minister between 1996 and 1999 and is the only non-Congress prime minister to complete the full term of five years, from 1999 to 2004. As his health deteriorated, he had slowly withdrawn himself from public life and was confined to his residence for years.