New Delhi, Feb 4 : The condition of the former Prime Minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee, who was admitted to AIIMS on Tuesday night following respiratory infection and fever, is stable today, doctors said.

The Superintendent of AIIMS, Dr D K Sharma, said: "His condition is stable and he is conscious."

The 84-year-old BJP leader is also suffering from hypertension and diabetes which needs to be taken care of, Dr Sharma added.

Vajpayee was rushed to AIIMS where he was admitted for observation and treatment for difficulty in breathing. He is under observation in the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the hospital.

On hearing news of Vajpayee being admitted to AIIMS, BJP President Rajnath Singh, visited the hospital and said the veteran leader is doing fine.

"He was suffering from fever and has chest infection. This is not something abnormal. Even healthy people sometimes suffer from this," said Rajnath Singh.

Vajpayee, who had two knee replacements and whose state of health is always a subject of rumour, began his political career in the political wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsewak Sangh (RSS).

Born into an upper-caste family on December 25, 1926, Vajpayee was detained by police during a protest against British rule in 1942 and during emergency rule imposed by late Prime Minister Indira Gandhi in 1970.

A bachelor with an adopted daughter, he was elected to parliament in 1957. He became Prime Minister in 1996, but only for 13 days and then regained power as head of a multi-party coalition in 1999. (ANI)