Lucknow: Setting at rest speculation about his fate in the wake of the stampede at his birthday function, Lalji Tandon, in-charge of Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's Parliamentary constituency, not only conducted the election rally of Vajpayee but was also one of the proposers in his nomination.

BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party) National General Secretary Pramod Mahajan urged Tandon to take over the mike and conduct the proceedings as per "tradition".

Elections 2004-The Drama unfolds...
Political Parties in India

Vajpayee made a brief reference of the stampede and advised more caution in future while organising such programmes.

He expressed his condolences to the bereaved families and assured them all possible help from the Government.

"We take a pledge that we will not allow such tragic incidents to recur in future," the Prime Minister said.