BJP cancels National Executive meeting as Vajpayee breathed his last at Delhi AIIMS

As former prime minister and Bharat Ratna Atal Bihari Vajpayee breathed his last at Delhi AIIMS, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday cancelled its National Executive meeting, which was scheduled to take place on August 18-19 in New Delhi. "As of now, the national executive has been postponed, and its dates will be finalised later," according to party sources.

The National Executive meeting, which was long due since September 2017, was expected to formulate poll strategies ahead of the crucial Assembly polls in Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, Rajasthan and Mizoram later this year. Other key discussions include the national poll agenda for upcoming Lok Sabha elections in 2019, the sources said.

National Executive meeting of the BJP which was scheduled to be held on August 18-19 has been cancelled. #AtalBihariVajpayee pic.twitter.com/mAR5N0Sj1x

— ANI (@ANI) August 16, 2018

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As per the BJP constitution, the National Executive should meet in every three months but was delayed owing to party president Amit Shah’s nationwide tour to gear up the organisational machinery for the forthcoming Assembly and Lok Sabha elections.

Earlier in the day, several top BJP leaders, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi, party chief Amit Shah and Home Minister Rajnath Singh rushed to AIIMS to enquire about Vajpayee, who was put on life-support system following a drop in his condition on Wednesday.

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

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On Thursday, Vajpayee's health condition took a turn for the worst and he succeumed to death after a prolonged battle on advanced life support at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), Delhi.