Chest infection puts LK Advani under hospital observation
Veteran Bharatiya Janata Party leader and former Deputy Prime Minister Lal Krishna Advani, 98, remains under medical observation at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in New Delhi after being admitted with a chest infection on Friday evening. Hospital officials have described his condition as stable.
Advani was brought to the hospital at approximately 7.30 pm on October 16 and admitted to its pulmonary department. A team of doctors is supervising his treatment and conducting medical investigations to assess his condition.
The hospital's assessment that he is stable was the principal update available on Saturday morning. Details of the infection, the findings of diagnostic tests and the likely duration of his hospital stay have not been publicly specified.
Doctors are continuing to monitor the former deputy prime minister while investigations proceed. There has been no confirmed announcement of a discharge date or any change in his treatment arrangements.
The admission is his second publicly reported hospital stay this year. Advani was treated at the same hospital in May for age-related health problems and discharged after several days. The nature of those earlier complaints has not been linked to the chest infection responsible for Friday's admission.
His medical history also includes hospital admissions during 2024. He was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi in June that year for evaluation of age-related ailments and was discharged the following day.
Advani subsequently entered Apollo Hospital in July 2024 for observation. He was discharged after a short stay, following medical assessment.
Another admission to Apollo followed in December 2024, when he received treatment and investigations in the intensive care unit under neurological supervision. Hospital officials subsequently indicated that his condition was improving. He was discharged later that month.
The previous hospitalisations provide context for the close medical supervision of the 98-year-old politician, although the available information does not establish any connection between those episodes and his present illness.
The latest admission follows a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Advani's New Delhi residence on October 7. Modi met the veteran leader while marking 25 years since he first assumed office as the head of a government.
Modi became Gujarat chief minister on October 7, 2001, before moving to national office as prime minister in 2014. During the meeting, he sought Advani's blessings and acknowledged his contribution to public life.
The meeting took place nine days before Advani was brought to hospital. No connection has been established between that visit and his subsequent medical treatment.
Advani is among the BJP's most prominent surviving founding leaders. He served as the party's president during three separate periods and played a significant role in building its national organisation.
He was deputy prime minister from 2002 to 2004 under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and held the Union home affairs portfolio during the National Democratic Alliance government's tenure.
Although he has withdrawn from active electoral politics, Advani remains a prominent figure in the party's history. His public appearances are comparatively limited, and meetings with senior political leaders have occasionally provided updates on his activities.
He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian honour, in 2024. President Droupadi Murmu presented the decoration at his residence in New Delhi, with Modi and other senior leaders attending the ceremony.
Advani was born on November 8, 1927, in Karachi, then part of British India. He will turn 99 next month.
His long political career included leadership of the BJP during its expansion from a comparatively small parliamentary presence into a major national force. He also served as information and broadcasting minister in the government headed by Morarji Desai.
His 1990 Ram Rath Yatra was a defining episode in the party's political mobilisation around the Ayodhya temple campaign. The movement remains a major element of his political legacy.
For now, the information released about his treatment is limited to the chest infection, the pulmonary department admission and the hospital's assessment of his condition. No further clinical findings have been made public.
The medical team is continuing its investigations at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, where Advani has received treatment on several earlier occasions. The facility is the same one that cared for him during his hospital admissions in May this year and December 2024.
Advani was brought to the hospital at approximately 7.30 pm on October 16 and admitted to its pulmonary department. A team of doctors is supervising his treatment and conducting medical investigations to assess his condition.
The hospital's assessment that he is stable was the principal update available on Saturday morning. Details of the infection, the findings of diagnostic tests and the likely duration of his hospital stay have not been publicly specified.
Doctors are continuing to monitor the former deputy prime minister while investigations proceed. There has been no confirmed announcement of a discharge date or any change in his treatment arrangements.
The admission is his second publicly reported hospital stay this year. Advani was treated at the same hospital in May for age-related health problems and discharged after several days. The nature of those earlier complaints has not been linked to the chest infection responsible for Friday's admission.
His medical history also includes hospital admissions during 2024. He was taken to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi in June that year for evaluation of age-related ailments and was discharged the following day.
Advani subsequently entered Apollo Hospital in July 2024 for observation. He was discharged after a short stay, following medical assessment.
Another admission to Apollo followed in December 2024, when he received treatment and investigations in the intensive care unit under neurological supervision. Hospital officials subsequently indicated that his condition was improving. He was discharged later that month.
The previous hospitalisations provide context for the close medical supervision of the 98-year-old politician, although the available information does not establish any connection between those episodes and his present illness.
The latest admission follows a visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to Advani's New Delhi residence on October 7. Modi met the veteran leader while marking 25 years since he first assumed office as the head of a government.
Modi became Gujarat chief minister on October 7, 2001, before moving to national office as prime minister in 2014. During the meeting, he sought Advani's blessings and acknowledged his contribution to public life.
The meeting took place nine days before Advani was brought to hospital. No connection has been established between that visit and his subsequent medical treatment.
Advani is among the BJP's most prominent surviving founding leaders. He served as the party's president during three separate periods and played a significant role in building its national organisation.
He was deputy prime minister from 2002 to 2004 under Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and held the Union home affairs portfolio during the National Democratic Alliance government's tenure.
Although he has withdrawn from active electoral politics, Advani remains a prominent figure in the party's history. His public appearances are comparatively limited, and meetings with senior political leaders have occasionally provided updates on his activities.
He was awarded the Bharat Ratna, the country's highest civilian honour, in 2024. President Droupadi Murmu presented the decoration at his residence in New Delhi, with Modi and other senior leaders attending the ceremony.
Advani was born on November 8, 1927, in Karachi, then part of British India. He will turn 99 next month.
His long political career included leadership of the BJP during its expansion from a comparatively small parliamentary presence into a major national force. He also served as information and broadcasting minister in the government headed by Morarji Desai.
His 1990 Ram Rath Yatra was a defining episode in the party's political mobilisation around the Ayodhya temple campaign. The movement remains a major element of his political legacy.
For now, the information released about his treatment is limited to the chest infection, the pulmonary department admission and the hospital's assessment of his condition. No further clinical findings have been made public.
The medical team is continuing its investigations at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, where Advani has received treatment on several earlier occasions. The facility is the same one that cared for him during his hospital admissions in May this year and December 2024.