Once there was a leader...

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So it's final. The BJP's candidate for the Lucknow Lok Sabha constituency is Lalji Tandon. The 72-year-old Tandon, who most of you got to know after the infamous saree stampede case in the 2007 UP Assembly elections, is a seasoned politician of some standing in local politics of the Hindi heartland. He was the most likely choice for his party to replace his predecessor, former PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee as he had earned the reputation of being Vajpayee's point person in Lucknow. But as a voter from Lucknow, my question is, has the BJP really found a candidate worthy of stepping into Vajpayee's shoes? Vajpayee's legacy is not just about the milestones he reached in his political career -- eight-time Lok Sabha MP, twice in the Rajya Sabha, the Foreign Minister in 1977, three-time Prime Minister of India. It's his skills and abilities as a parliamentarian and his personal....