PM or not, Vajpayee far from grassroots

The former PM was earlier supposed to arrive by a commercial flight and pass through the common lounge. But in the revised schedule, Vajpayee will leave via the VVIP lounge, and so only a select batch of leaders can be present at the Amausi airport to greet him.

Vajpayee will be taken straight to Raj Bhavan, where again, the ordinary party workers will not have hassle-free entry.

‘‘We were elated when we got information that the former PM will be coming as an MP with no major security ring attached, but now it is clear that whether he is PM or not, Atalji will remain as distant to us as he used to be since 1998,’’ said a party worker.

Vajpayee will have an interaction with party workers at Shishu Mandir in Niralanagar but only 1,500 passes have been issued.

‘‘He never got the feedback from grassroots workers during earlier visits, and this time too, he will be surrounded by the same coterie (Tandon and his group). This coterie decides who should be allowed to meet Vajpayee,’’ said a BJP corporator. This, despite the fact that sources have blamed Vajpayee’s low victory margin on his lack of interaction with workers.

Vajpayee’s old friend Shivkumar will be conspicuous by his absence. Sources say that he has been sidelined after the fall of the NDA government. Shivkumar was supposed to look after the PM’s campaigning in Lucknow after Tandon was asked to lie low following the sari stampede.