Vajpayee's condition remains critical, AIIMS medical bulletin shortly

As followers and well-wishers prayed for the recovery of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, the national capital was preparing for the worst on Thursday afternoon. The medical bulletin of All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), expected shortly, will shed light on his condition.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited the hospital, where Vajpayee is currently admitted and on life support system, on Thursday afternoon. He had spent an hour at the hospital on Wednesday evening as well.

Traffic police were busy ensuring that roads leading to the hospitals were kept free of heavy traffic. Preparations were also underway outside Vajpayee’s official residence at 6A, Krishna Menon Marg in Lutyens' Delhi.

Several senior politicians visited AIIMS to inquire about the health of the 93-year-old leader.

Vice President M Venkaiah Naidu visited in the morning, as did Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) chief Amit Shah and senior union ministers Sushma Swaraj and Rajnath Singh.

Rajasthan Chief Minister Vasundhara Raje cut short the second leg of her ‘Rajasthan Gaurav Yatra’, part of her assembly election campaign, to head to Delhi.

Madhya Pradesh CM Shivraj Singh Chouhan also cancelled all his programmes for the day to reach Delhi to visit Vajpayee. West Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee and Bihar CM Nitish Kumar, both of whom had worked under Vajpayee as ministers, were also on their way to Delhi. Some other chief ministers were also headed towards Delhi.

Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal also visited AIIMS. Kejriwal requested party volunteers and well-wishers not to celebrate his birthday in view of Vajpayee’s deteriorating health. He also asked party workers to not visit his residence.