Huge void created in Indian politics: Amit Shah on Atal Bihari Vajpayee's demise

Speaking to media outside Vajpayee's Delhi residence, where the mortal remains of the former PM will be kept on Thursday night, Shah said India lost a stalwart leader and a pole star of its politics.

"Today, I believe that for BJP, it's an irreparable loss,"  Shah said, adding that: "Whatever Atalji did it was for the welfare of the country."

He said a huge void has been left in the Indian politics, which cannot be fulfilled by anyone.

"He did not just work as a BJP worker but took efforts for the overall development of the country," said Shah.

"Crores of youth have lost their inspiration," he added.

The BJP chief said the party today pledges to fulfill the work he started.

"We will take forward his vision about the country," Shah announced.

Meanwhile, the mortal remains of  Vajpayee has been brought to his residence in Delhi. It will be kept here on Thursday night.

Several political bigwigs including Prime Minister Narendra Modi are present at the residence to pay him tributes.

Around 9 am on Friday, his body will be taken to the BJP headquarters where people will get a chance to pay their last respects.

The final journey will begin at 1 pm on Friday and the last rites would be carried out near the Rajghat around 4 pm with full state honours.

Vajpayee, a three-time prime minister of India, a Bharat Ratna and a stalwart of Indian politics who represented the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi on Thursday. He was 93. 

A seven-day national mourning has been declared by the Cente starting Aug 16, which will come to an end on Aug 22.

Several states including Himachal Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttarakhand, Delhi, Odisha, Uttar Pradesh and Jharkhand have declared public holiday on Friday as a mark of respect for the former PM.

Vajpayee, whose first term as the Prime Minister lasted only 13 days in 1996, returned to the top position in 1998 to lead the nation till 2004.

He was admitted to the hospital on June 11 with a kidney tract infection, urinary tract infection, low urine output and chest congestion.

His passed away at 5:05 pm, AIIMS said.

A bachelor all his life, he was awarded the Bharat Ratna in 2015, India's highest civilian honour.

The External Affairs Minister in the cabinet of the Morarji Desai government in late 70s, he was a Member of Parliament (MP) for over four decades.

He was elected to the Lok Sabha  (lower house) ten times and twice to the Rajya Sabha (upper house).

He represented the Lucknow parliamentary seat in  Uttar Pradesh until 2009 when he retired from active politics.

Considered a moderate and a voice of reason, he was among the founding members of the erstwhile Bharatiya Jana Sangh- the predecessor of the present day BJP. He had headed it from 1968 to 1972.

He was born on Dec  25, 1924 in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh. His father was a schoolmaster.

One of the politicians of India who was held in high esteem by all political parties cutting across ideologies, his birthday is celebrated by the government as Good Governance Day.

Vajpayee first joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), the ideological patron of the BJP, in 1939 and in 1951, he was entrusted to work with the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the predecessor of  BJP.

Vajpayee despite being a voice of the Hindu nationalist BJP was critical of the demolition of the disputed Ram Janmabhoomi Babri Masjid structure in 1992.

It was also in his tenure that India conducted its second nuclear test in 1998  in Rajasthan's Pokhran, which led to sanctions against India by countries including the US and Japan.

His tenure was marked by the Kargil War of 1999 and the post-Godhra riots in Gujarat when his government came under sharp attack.

It was also under his tenure that India undertook the National Highways Development Project (NHDP) to upgrade and widen major highways in the country to a higher standard.