End of an Atal era

​New Delhi: Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee, one of India's most charismatic leaders who led the nation through several crises while holding together a tenuous coalition with his inclusive politics and superlative oratory, died here on Thursday. He was 93. Vajpayee, a bachelor, is survived by his adopted daughter Namita Kaul Bhattacharya. He will be cremated at 4 pm on Friday at Rashtriya Smriti Sthal in New Delhi.

Vajpayee's death was announced by the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) hospital where he was admitted June 11 with a variety of ailments. "It is with profound grief that we inform about the sad demise of Former Prime Minister of India, Shri Atal Bihari Vajpayee, at 05:05 pm," the AIIMS said in a statement. It said his condition was stable for the last nine weeks, but "unfortunately, his condition deteriorated over the last 36 hours and he was put on life support systems." 

A pall of gloom descended at the BJP headquarters as soon the news of Vajpayee's demise broke. A seven-day state mourning was announced by the government as a mark of respect to Vajpayee. Vajpayee, who joined the Rastriya Swamsevak Sangha (RSS) in 1947 rose through ranks to become a stalwart of the BJP and was the first non-Congress prime minister to complete a full term in office. 

On Thursday evening, Vajpayee's body was taken to his residence at Krishna Menon marg in New Delhi where host of leaders cutting across party lines and people from different walks of life paid their last respects. Seen as a moderate face of BJP, Vajpayee's first became prime minister in 1996, leading a shaky coalition whose members were suspicious of the BJP's right-wing politics. It lasted for 13 days and collapsed after losing a vote of no-confidence. His second stint as prime minister was in 1998 when the National Democratic Alliance again came to power but that lasted for just 13 months. 

Finally, the NDA with Vajpayee as PM returned to power in 1999 and was voted out in 2004. A lifelong bachelor, Vajpayee was first elected to Lok Sabha in 1957 from Balrampur in Uttar Pradesh in India's second general elections. His maiden speech in Parliament so impressed his peers and colleagues that the then Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru introduced Vajpayee to a visiting foreign dignitary thus: "This young man one day will become the country's prime minister."  

The former prime minister was admitted to the hospital on June 11 with a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection, low urine output and chest congestion. Vajpayee, a diabetic, had only one functional kidney. He suffered a stroke in 2009 that weakened his cognitive abilities. Subsequently, he developed dementia.