Lalu to undergo two heart surgeries Wednesday

Rashtriya Janata Dal chief Lalu Prasad will Wednesday undergo two major heart surgeries - one to replace an aortic valve and the other to repair the aorta, a doctor said here Tuesday.

"He has been diagnosed with 'aortic stenosis' and we will be operating on him Wednesday morning. The procedure will take over five hours," Asian Heart Institute medical director Vijay D'Silva said.

"No heart surgery is simple," said institute head Ramakanta Panda on the surgery.

Panda had operated on former prime minister Manmohan Singh around five years ago.

The decision to perform the surgery followed a series of medical tests and evaluation on Lalu Prasad, who was admitted to the institute Monday, a spokesperson said.

He was Tuesday diagnosed with the heart ailment, necessitating the surgeries.

However, D'Silva said Lalu Prasad was "fundamentally a healthy person as can be seen from the intense campaigning he has done", recently in Bihar.

RJD general secretary Ashok Singh, who is in Mumbai, said: "Lalu ji has tremendous will power. We have faith in the Asian Heart Institute."