NEW DELHI: Former Finance Minister and senior BJP leader Arun Jaitely passed away at AIIMS on Saturday after prolonged illness. undergone dialysis on Thursday. Jaitley, 66, was admitted at AIIMS since August 9 and had undergone dialysis on Thursday. Senior BJP leader L K Advani on Saturday fondly remembered Arun Jaitley as a man with a deeply analytical mind who the party depended on for finding solutions to complex issues.

"I am deeply saddened to condole the passing away of yet another close colleague Arun Jaitley ji. Besides being a big luminary in the legal arena, Arunji was an outstanding parliamentarian and a great administrator.

"A dedicated party worker for decades, he was someone who was inducted into the BJP core team when I was Party President and he soon rose to become one of the most prominent leaders of the party," Advani said in a statement.

The senior leader also said that Jaitley was known and respected for his "sharp, analytical mind and everyone in the BJP always depended on him for finding solutions to complex issues."

"He was also someone who valued and nurtured his friendship with people across the political spectrum. As a person, Arunji will be remembered as a soft-spoken, erudite and warm hearted person. A food lover, he never failed to recommend good restaurants to me.

Also on every Deepawali, he made it a point to come with his family to our home to wish us.

"Although Arunji was hospitalised for the last couple of weeks, we were all hoping that he would recover soon," he said.

Terming his demise as a "huge loss" not only to the BJP and the entire Sangh Parivar, but also to the nation, Advani said that it was a "personal loss that has left a huge void" in him.

(With inputs from PTI)