India’s former PM Vajpayee dies at 93
India’s former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee passed away on Thursday, according to a statement issued by the hospital where he was admitted.
Vajpayee, who belonged to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), the main ruling party in the country, was 93 years old.
Vajpayee had been treated in Delhi-based “All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS)” for the past nine weeks after complaints of kidney infection and breathlessness.
His condition deteriorated over the past couple of days, and he was on a life-support system. He had been bed-ridden for the past several years, in an almost unconscious state.
Vajpayee served as Indian prime minister three times – first in 1996 for only 13 days, and then for two consecutive terms between March 1998 to May 2004, of which the first tenure lasted 13 months.
During his active political life, he was seen as a great orator and had friends cutting across party lines. Besides his political life, Vajpayee also served as a journalist after completing his education. He served as India’s external affairs minister from March 1977 to July 1979.
Vajpayee had the distinction of being the only parliamentarian in the country to have been elected from four different states – northern state Uttar Pradesh, western state Gujarat, central state Madhya Pradesh and Delhi.
Vajpayee visited China in 2003 as India’s prime minister.