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Team Udayavani, Aug 16, 2018, 1:04 PM IST

New Delhi: The condition of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee remains critical and he continues to be on advanced life-support system, AIIMS said in a statement today. The 93-year-old BJP veteran was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) here on June 11 with a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection, low urine output and chest congestion.

A health bulletin issued by the hospital today stated, “Former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee’s condition continues to be the same. He is critical and on life-support system.”  Last night, it had said that Vajpayee’s condition has worsened, it was critical and he was on life-support system.

“Both his lungs are not in good condition because of pneumonia on both sides and kidneys are also weak. He is critical,” a source said today. Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu visited AIIMS this morning to enquire about the condition of the former prime minister. BJP veteran L K Advani was also at the hospital to enquire about the health of Vajpayee.

BJP chief Amit Shah, Union Health Minister J P Nadda, were also at AIIMS, while Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Union ministers Prakash Javadekar are expected to visit the premier medical institute. 

Delhi BJP President Manoj Tiwari was among those who visited the hospital. Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the AIIMS yesterday evening to enquire about the condition of Vajpayee. He reached the hospital at around 7.15 pm and spent about 50 minutes there.

After Modi, Railway Minister Piyush Goyal and BJP MP Meenakshi Lekhi also paid a visit. Later in the night, several leaders and ministers including Suresh Prabhu, Jitendra Singh, Harsh Vardhan and Shahnawaz Hussain visited the hospital. Earlier, Union Textiles Minister Smriti Irani had visited the hospital to check on Vajpayee.

A large crowd of mediapersons and others has gathered outside the hospital to get updates on Vajpayee’s heath, affecting movement of traffic on the road today. Policemen have been deployed to manage the crowd and traffic outside the hospital.

Vajpayee, a diabetic, has only one functional kidney. He had suffered a stroke in 2009 that weakened his cognitive abilities. Subsequently, he developed dementia.