Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee has been admitted at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) for 9 weeks now, it was revealed Wednesday.

The statesman, who is widely respected by all political parties, is on life support system since I-Day. His condition is "very critical”, a statement from the AIIMS says. "Unfortunately his condition has worsened over the last 24 hours,” Dr. Aarti Vij adds. Kidney tract infection, chest congestion and urine output being on the lower side are the medical complaints.

Yesterday, Prime Minister Narendra Modi was there at the AIIMS for about 50 minutes.

On Thursday morning, Vice-President M Venkaiah Naidu and Home Minister Rajnath Singh, BJP president Amit Shah and veteran leader and Vajpayee's friend LK Advani paid a visit to the AIIMS to enquire about the former PM's health. Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will pay a visit either today or tomorrow, reports say.

AIIMS has put in place heavy security arrangements. Traffic jams in the locality have been reported.