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When PM becomes MP

Sharat Pradhan in Lucknow

Is Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee feeling unsure of himself in his home constituency, Lucknow, from where he romped home twice in the past?

The question seems relevant in the context of the increased frequency of his visits to Uttar Pradesh's capital.

What has surprised all and sundry in Lucknow is that he could find the time for two visits over a span of 20 days, while a third one is being planned in the near future. All this when a virtual war is on at the frontier.

Vajpayee spared two days at a stretch on the first visit on June 11 and a full day on June 30. Ironically, the first visit was preceded by the discovery of mutilated bodies of Indian soldiers in Kargil, while an Indian diplomat was roughed up by Pakistani officials in Islamabad just a day before the second visit.

When this reporter questioned him about his readiness to participate in celebrations at a time when the country's soldiers were laying down their lives on the frontiers, Vajpayee found an easy alibi. "You see, I am not participating in celebrations, but these functions only reflect the strength of a nation which can afford to let normal life go on," he observed.

What he conveniently chose to ignore was the ostentation at each function. According to a senior bureaucrat the two visits of the prime minister to his constituency had cost the state exchequer over ten million rupees.

Huge pandals and shamianas erected at different venues, together with scores of expensively built arches and welcome gates, turned what ought to have been sober political meetings into glitzy extravaganzas. What made matters worse was the virtual scramble by two senior ministers for making their presence felt around the prime minister.

The ministers, Kalraj Misra and Lalji Tandon, have a ready excuse for inviting the prime minister at the drop-of-a-hat. ''After all he is the local MP," they retort.

But like Vajpayee, they too seem to turn a blind eye to the fact that such frequent trips are unlikely to add to the prime minister's popularity. Rather, the VVIP's turning into a Very Very 'Inconvenient' Personage could take a heavy toll on his support base.

"It is nice of him to pay so much attention to Lucknow. But little does he seem to fathom the inconvenience his ill-planned visits cause to his own electorate," observed a staunch supporter, who wonders, "Why can't these functions be held away from the heart of the city, so that life of lesser mortals is not thrown out of gear?"

A senior citizen wants to know, "Why this dichotomy in the PM's remark about letting normal life go on even at a time of war, when he does not allow his own constituents to live their normal lives once he is on a visit to his constituency?"

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