New Delhi: Former Deputy Prime Minister and senior Bharatiya Janata Party leader Lal Krishna Advani has been hospitalised in the national capital with chest infection, IANS reported.
The 98-year-old BJP stalwart was taken to Indraprastha Apollo Hospital on Friday evening, with officials saying he was brought in at approximately 7.30 pm. He has been placed in the pulmonary department and is being monitored closely by a medical team, while diagnostic examinations continue.
Hospital authorities maintained that Advani’s health is stable and that he is receiving the necessary treatment.
Earlier Hospitalisations
This is not the first health scare for the veteran politician in recent months. In May, Advani was admitted to the same hospital owing to complications linked to advanced age. He spent several days under medical supervision before being allowed to return home.
Prior to that, in December 2024, Advani was shifted to the intensive care unit of Indraprastha Apollo Hospital for treatment and a series of investigations. At the time, he was being looked after by a neurologist, and the hospital had described his condition as stable.
On December 17 that year, the hospital said Advani was improving steadily and was expected to be moved out of the ICU within the next day or two.
Born on November 8, 1927, in Karachi, Advani is widely regarded as one of the principal architects of the BJP who helped transform the party from a modest political outfit into a formidable national force.
He led the BJP as its president on several occasions and played a central role in building the party’s organisational network across India. His Ram Rath Yatra of 1990 proved to be a watershed moment in the country’s political landscape and considerably broadened the BJP’s support base.
Advani served as Deputy Prime Minister between 2002 and 2004 in the government headed by then Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Over the course of his long political career, he also handled key ministerial responsibilities, including the Home Affairs portfolio.
For his decades of service in public life, Advani received the Padma Vibhushan in 2015. Four years later, in 2024, he was honoured with the Bharat Ratna, the country’s highest civilian award.
Though no longer active in politics, Advani continues to be regarded as a towering figure within the BJP.
