A huge crowd has gathered outside the BJP headquarters, where Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Amit Shah and a host of ministers and party workers were gathered to pay their last respects to Atal BIhari Vajpayee.


The air was solemn as Vajpayee's body, draped in the tricolour, was placed on a platform draped in white flowers. Hundreds of people filed past the body in silence, with a large portrait of a smiling Vajpayee in the backdrop.


Vajpayee, 93, passed away at the All India Institute of Medical Sciences in New Delhi last evening after a prolonged illness.


He will be accorded a state funeral. The funeral procession will leave the BJP headquarters at 1 pm and the last rites will be performed at the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal at 4 pm.


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.


Earlier this morning, Congress President Rahul Gandhi, Andhra Pradesh Chief Minister N Chandrababu Naidu, National Security Advisor Ajit Doval, Army Chief Bipin Rawat, Chief of Naval Staff Admiral Sunil Lanba and RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat paid homage to the former prime minister at his official residence. -- PTI


Image: Maharashtra CM Devendra Fadnavis pays his respects before Atal Bihari Vajpayee's casket.