Lal Krishna Advani, who served as Deputy Prime Minister and built a long career within the Bharatiya Janata Party, was taken to Indraprastha Apollo Hospital in Delhi after developing a chest infection. Doctors at the facility described his condition as stable.
The 98-year-old leader was admitted to the pulmonary ward late on Friday evening, arriving at the facility around half past seven. Doctors are monitoring him while a battery of medical tests proceeds. Hospital staff are attending to Advani, and those familiar with his status say his condition has not deteriorated.
A health-related hospitalisation brought him to Apollo Hospital in May of this year, attributed to conditions linked to his advancing age. Doctors kept him in their care for several days before clearing him to leave.
Towards the close of 2024, Advani underwent a period of hospital-based evaluation and treatment at Indraprastha Apollo Hospital, with care provided through the facility's intensive care unit. A neurologist oversaw his course of treatment. A spokesperson for the facility indicated that his condition had not deteriorated. A statement from the hospital on 17 December 2024 noted that Advani's condition had been moving in a positive direction, with a transfer out of intensive care anticipated within one to two days.
Born in Karachi on 8 November 1927 — a city that would later fall within Pakistan's borders — Advani built a political career that placed him among the more widely recognised figures in the BJP's history. Observers have attributed to him a role in driving a shift in the party's standing, from an organisation with a limited national footprint to one that gained wider prominence across the country.
Holding the BJP presidency across several tenures, Advani played a hands-on role in building the party's grassroots networks throughout India. The Ram Rath Yatra he led across the country in 1990 drew widespread attention and coincided with a period of growing electoral support for the BJP.
Between 2002 and 2004, he held the position of Deputy Prime Minister within the administration headed by Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Among the roles he took on across his time in public life was the Home Affairs portfolio, alongside several other ministerial responsibilities.
India's top civilian honour, the Bharat Ratna, was bestowed upon Advani during 2024. Padma Vibhushan recognition had been conferred upon him at an earlier point, with that honour dating to 2015. His standing within the BJP traces back through decades of the party's development, with Advani counted among its more established figures.
