PM files his papers with Lalji very much by his side

The men who proposed Vajpayee’s name today were advocate Badri Awasthi and Lucknow mayor N C Sahi.

Soon after he filed his papers, Vajpayee addressed party workers and sought their support ‘‘in order to complete the unfinished agenda.’’ He also did not forget the women who died in the stampede: ‘‘It was a painful incident. When I feel suffocated in a crowd, I feel like dying. It pains me to think what these women must have felt.’’

Earlier, before he set out for the Collectorate, he participated in a yagya at the new BJP regional office opposite the Vidhan Sabha. Only 21 BJP functionaries had been invited. In keeping with the PM’s wish, the affair was kept low key, very unlike the last time when his procession had stretched for miles.

BJP president Venkaiah Naidu played down reports that Tandon was being removed as Vajpayee’s election in-charge: ‘‘How can he be removed as an election agent when he was never appointed as one?’’

Meanwhile, Congress Rajya Sabha member Akhilesh Das has decided to contest against Vajpayee. After he filed his papers in Lucknow today, the Congress said this was done as a ‘‘precautionary measure.’’

In New Delhi, Congress spokesperson Kapil Sibal claimed that Ram Jethmalani had told the party that he would not withdraw from the contest against Vajpayee.

Describing Vajpayee’s appeal to Jethmalani to withdraw his candidature as a ‘‘blot on democracy,’’ Sibal said Jethmalani, who left for London last night, had told him that he was not pulling out and that this should be conveyed to Congress president Sonia Gandhi.