Jethmalani withdraws from fray

Lawyer not to fight from Lucknow due to 'family problems'

Noted lawyer Ram Jethmalani, who was to contest as an Independent candidate against Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee in Lucknow, announced his withdrawal on Friday. He, however, said he would campaign in support of the Congress nominee there.

The announcement of his withdrawal from the fray comes in the wake of Vajpayee's appeal to him on Wednesday. However, the statement issued by Jethmalani yesterday does not make any reference to it.

On Wednesday, Vajpayee in his appeal to Jethmalani had cited their 40 years of friendship and asked him to reconsider his decision to contest against him in Lucknow.

"Due to a sudden family problem, I had to leave the scene of battle and come away to London. Fortunately, the situation is not as serious as it initially appeared and I hope to resume the battle in a few days," Jethmalani, who is away in London for the treatment of his son, said in a press release issued by his office here.

"My withdrawal and the nomination of my friend Akhilesh Das, the Congress candidate, became inevitable due to the uncertainty that prevailed on the last day of nominations," the statement added.

The Congress on Friday sought to downplay Jethmalani's move and demanded an explanation from Vajpayee as to what "frightened" him to request his main opponent to withdraw from the fray.

"It is unprecedented that Vajpayee, who is the mascot of the BJP in the elections, has to make an appeal to his main opponent to withdraw from the contest. Vajpayee owes an explanation as to what frightened him to take this step," party spokesman Anand Sharma told reporters.

To a question whether Jethmalani withdrew under "pressure", Sharma said the question could be answered only by Jethmalani. "We accept Jethmalani's word that he went to London to attend to his son's illness. If there is any other reason, we are not privy to it," he added.