Sonia, Pranab get a bumpy guided tour in an army truck

They sat on a bench behind the cabin during the 90-minute ride, as the truck took them from the airport to Surat city, a stretch of 13 km, and around several areas in the city, where thousands of people have been marooned for the past three days.

The milling crowds during Gandhi’s earlier visits to Gujarat were conspicuous by their absence, and only a few people could be seen in the areas traversed by the truck.

The security paraphernalia and long convoys too were missing and unsuspecting people realised that Sonia Gandhi was touring the area only after the truck trundled past potholed roads.

‘‘People do not expect Sonia Gandhi to travel in a truck,’’ a Congress leader said, seeking to explain the absence of crowds as he made frantic efforts to collect a gathering of party followers.