New Delhi, October 20
Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee arrived here from Lucknow, hours ahead of schedule, due to a “bad throat” even as there was speculation that his early return was a move to avoid embarrassment at the hands of dissident BJP MLAs in Uttar Pradesh.

Mr Vajpayee, who was to return at 8 pm, reached here by a special aircraft at 2.45 pm after cancelling a meeting in Lucknow where he was to address party workers.

On his arrival here, the Prime Minister did not speak to waiting mediapersons at the airport. He was accompanied by Minister of State in the Prime Minister’s Office Vijay Goel.

A spokesman for the Prime Minister, who had accompanied Mr Vajapayee on the two-day visit to Lucknow, emphasised that the Prime Minister cut short his visit due to his “bad throat”.

Warning the media against reading too much into the speculation, he said, “The Prime Minister really has a very bad throat and the doctors have advised him to take rest and not speak.”

Significantly, Mr Vajpayee’s decision to cut short his visit to Lucknow came after he had refused to meet the BJP leaders who had revolted against the party’s state leadership for non-inclusion in the Mayawati Ministry during the expansion on October 11.