Senior BJP leader and former Deputy Prime Minister L.K. Advani has been admitted to Apollo Hospital in Delhi. According to a PTI report, the 96-year-old statesman, born in undivided India, is reportedly in stable condition. Dr. Vinit Suri, a doctor at Apollo Hospitals in Delhi, confirmed that Advani is admitted for routine follow-up check-up and is likely to be discharged soon. This admission follows a similar hospitalization in early July, when Advani was observed at the same facility before being discharged. He was under the care of Dr. Vinit Suri, a senior consultant in the neurology department.
In July, Advani was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) at around 10.30 pm on June 26 for treatment in the department of urology. He was discharged on 27 June afternoon. Advani’s ailment in both instances is not yet known.
Advani, who was recently conferred with Bharat Ratna by President Draupadi Murmu on March 30, 2024, has a long and distinguished political career. Born in Karachi (present-day Pakistan) on November 8, 1927, he joined the RSS as a Swayamsevak in 1942. He served as the BJP National President from 1986 to 1990, then from 1993 to 1998, and from 2004 to 2005. Advani held the party presidency for the longest period since its inception in 1980.
His parliamentary career spanned nearly three decades. He served as the Home Minister and later, the Deputy Prime Minister in the cabinet of Atal Bihari Vajpayee (1999-2004). In the run-up to the 2009 elections, Advani, as the Leader of the Opposition, was considered the BJP’s Prime Ministerial candidate. The Parliamentary Board of BJP formally announced him as its prime ministerial candidate for the general elections due in 2009. However, after Congress and its allies won the 2009 general elections, Advani paved the way for Sushma Swaraj to become the Leader of the Opposition in the 15th Lok Sabha.
