Former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee may have declared that he was out of electoral politics in December 2005, but the victory of fellow octogenarians M Karunanidhi and V S Achutanandan at the hustings has inspired him to a second wind.
Vajpayee has apparently resolved that if they can undertake arduous campaigns then so should he, the first step in any plans is a complete makeover, that is to lose weight.
The former prime minister has lost over nine kilos in the last few months and according to those close to him, this can be directly attributed to diet and exercise.
"It isn't only politics, the pain in his knees was also acute and losing weight was the only way out," said an aide.
"When he saw an 82-year-old Karunanidhi campaign in the May heat and win elections, this provided the initiative," he added.
Because of his knee problem Vajpayee is avoiding strenuous exercise. "A physiotherapist comes everyday and he does exercises either lying down or sitting up. He walks, slowly of course, every morning. He has started avoiding all fried food and sweets which he was very fond of earlier," said an aide.
Vajpayee is quite notorious for his epicurean ways. At a Bharatiya Janata Party national executive meeting a couple of years ago he had been mistakenly informed by senior BJP leader Sushma Swaraj that malpuas (a fried sticky sweet dish) were to be served.
When Vajpayee found out that the sweet was not on the menu, he asked Swaraj rather querulously where the malpuas were. People were then sent across to a sweet shop to get the dish. This time round however, he has been acting with greater forbearance.
Vajpayee's weight loss is being seen as a sign by his admirers that the former premier still has a few good years of politics left in him.
