NEW DELHI: Hundreds of people queued up this morning outside the residence of former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Delhi, to pay their last respects to the departed leader.

Heavy security arrangements, including deployment of police, traffic and paramilitary personnel, were in place around the 6-A, Krishna Menon Marg bungalow in the central Delhi.

According to security officials present outside Mr Vajpayee's house, the gates of the residence were thrown open at 7:30 am for the public to pay homage to Mr Vajpayee.

His body would later be taken to the Bharatiya Janata Party's national headquarters at Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg.

The final journey to the Rashtriya Smriti Sthal, near Rajghat would begin around 1 pm. Atal Bihari Vajpayee died at Delhi's AIIMS hospital yesterday at the age of 93, following a prolonged illness.

52-year-old Yogesh Kumar arrived in Delhi with a group of people from Uttarkashi in Uttarakhand. The group covered a distance of around 500-km overnight in the hope to have one last glimpse of their beloved leader.

"I had met Vajpayee ji in 1984 when he had visited Uttarkashi en route to Gangotri. He visited the town once again in 1986," Mr Kumar said, as he displayed a picture of Mr Vajpayee with him.

"I have also brought along the Gangajal from Gangotri," he said, hoping to find an opportunity to see him. Another man, in his early 20s, said he had come all the way from Bihar to pay homage to the former prime minister.

"I believe we have lost a great leader in him," he said.

courtesy : ndtv.com

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Kolkata (PTI): West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee on Monday urged TMC candidates and agents to remain vigilant and not to leave counting centres, alleging that there was a "game plan" by the BJP and the Election Commission to show the saffron party taking a lead in the early trends of counting.

In a video message issued during the counting of votes, the TMC supremo appealed to party workers to stay put and not to lose morale.

"I appeal to everyone that neither TMC candidates nor counting agents should abandon counting centres," she said.

As trends on the Election Commission website indicated the BJP leading in 188 seats against the TMC's 94, Banerjee maintained that her party was still ahead in a significant number of constituencies.

"We are still ahead in 170 seats, but I request everyone not to lose hope," she said, adding that there were "around 70 to 100 seats where we are leading, but they are not sharing the data of those seats".

"A false narrative is being spread," she alleged.

The chief minister accused the Election Commission of "not declaring results or leads" in areas where the TMC was ahead.

"This is a game plan by the EC and the BJP as it (poll panel) is not declaring results or leads in areas where we are leading," she said.

Banerjee also alleged irregularities in the counting process at some locations.

"In several places, counting has been stopped after the first two to three rounds. In Kalyani, we have caught seven machines with severe anomalies," she claimed.

She further alleged that TMC workers were being "harassed with the help of central forces" and that party offices were being "vandalised and forcefully captured".

"With the help of central forces, they are harassing and torturing AITC workers. Our offices have been vandalised," she said, also alleging that voter list revision exercises were "purposefully done to target seats where we were strong".

Seeking to reassure party workers, Banerjee said more rounds of counting were yet to take place and urged them to stay firm.

"Fourteen to eighteen rounds of counting will happen. You will surely emerge victorious. Don't be afraid; fight like tigers," she said.

Her remarks came as counting trends suggested that the BJP was leading in 188 seats and had crossed the halfway mark of 148 in the 294-member assembly, pointing to a potential shift in the state's political landscape.

Counting for 293 constituencies was underway with postal ballots, followed by EVM votes.

Officials cautioned that trends could change as more rounds are counted, and final results would be known later in the day.