LK Advani Admitted To Hospital, Stable: Officials
LK Advani, former Deputy Prime Minister of India, has been admitted to ICU of Indraprastha Apollo Hospitals for medical management and investigations, a statement from Apolo Hospitals said.
“He is under the care of Dr Vinit Suri and is currently stable,” the statement added.
97 year old Lal Krishna Advani, a stalwart of Indian politics and one of the founding members of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), has been a major figure in shaping contemporary Indian politics.
Born on November 8, 1927, in Karachi (now in Pakistan), Advani’s political journey spans several decades, marked by his nationalist ideology and his instrumental role in transforming the BJP into a dominant political force in India, especially through the Ram Janmabhoomi movement he led in the 1980s and 1990s.
Advani began his political career with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) and later joined the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the precursor to the BJP. Following the Jana Sangh’s merger into the Janata Party during the 1970s, Advani played a crucial role in rebuilding the party after its disintegration and the subsequent formation of the BJP in 1980. As one of the party’s key leaders, he became its president in 1986, a role in which he spearheaded the BJP’s ideological focus on Hindutva.
Advani’s most significant political contribution was his role in the Ram Janmabhoomi movement, which catapulted the BJP into national prominence. His Rath Yatra in 1990, aimed at mobilising support for the construction of a Ram temple in Ayodhya, galvanised the party’s grassroots base and marked a turning point in Indian politics. Though the movement was polarising, it established Advani as a mass leader capable of connecting with the aspirations of millions.
In 1998, under the leadership of Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Advani’s organisational prowess, the BJP formed its first coalition government at the Centre. Advani served as the Deputy Prime Minister from 2002 to 2004, overseeing key portfolios and contributing to policy decisions during Vajpayee’s tenure.
Despite his contributions, Advani’s later years in politics saw a decline in his influence, especially with the rise of Narendra Modi within the BJP. His reluctance to accept Modi as the party’s prime ministerial candidate in 2014 further alienated him from the party’s core leadership.
