Vishma Pitamah of Indian Politics has fallen : Atal Bihari Vajpayee Passes Away

New Delhi: Battling age-related illness for around two months, Former Prime Minister and senior BJP Leader Atal Bihari Vajpayee breathed his last today at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in Delhi.

As soon as the news broke, the country got been struck by grief. Vajpayee commanded a larger than life image and was respected by both his party members and opponents.

The Former Prime Minister had suffered dementia for a long time following a stroke in 2009.

The AIIMS authorities informed at 5.05 PM about Vajpayee's demise expressing their grief over the death of the Former Prime Minister.

He was a member of the Indian Parliament for over four decades, being elected to the Lok Sabha, the lower house, ten times, and twice to the Rajya Sabha, the upper house. He was elected MP from Lucknow of Uttar Pradesh until 2009 when he retired from active politics due to health concerns. Vajpayee was among the founding members of the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh which he also headed from 1968 to 1972. He was the Minister of External Affairs in the cabinet of Prime Minister Morarji Desai.

When the Janata government collapsed, Vajpayee restructured the Jana Sangh into the Bharatiya Janata Party in 1980. He was the first Indian prime minister not belonging to the Indian National Congress to serve a full five-year term.

In 2014, the President of India conferred him with the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award.

It was declared by the Modi government in 2014 that Vajpayee's birthday, 25 December, would be marked as Good Governance Day.

Condolences have started pouring in from all corners after the demise of the veteran BJP leader.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi expressed his condolences at Vajpayee's death.

"Atal Ji's passing away is a personal and irreplaceable loss for me. I have countless fond memories with him. He was an inspiration to Karyakartas like me. I will particularly remember his sharp intellect and outstanding wit", wrote the Prime Minister on Twitter.

Congress Presiden Rahul Gandhi also took to Twitter to mourn the death of Vajpayee "Today India lost a great son. Former PM, Atal Bihari Vajpayee ji, was loved and respected by millions. My condolences to his family & all his admirers. We will miss him", wrote Gandhi.