Cong Googly Stumps Azad

He left the BJP after 26 years batting no eyelash, but now in the Congress, he seems to be batting on a rather sticky wicket. Such has been the fate of former cricketer Kirti Azad, who joined the Congress ahead of the Lok Sabha polls. Buckling under pressure from its Delhi leaders, the Congress high command had decided against naming Azad the Delhi Congress president. He was made campaign committee chairman for the upcoming assembly polls—his Purvanchali identity and ease with Bhojpuri, Maithili and Punjabi fit well with this role as 70 per cent of Delhi’s  voters speak these languages, he was reportedly told. Sources say state Congress chief Subhash Chopra made Azad wait nearly a month before giving him a dedicated office space in the party headquarters. Azad’s request for kicking off a publicity blitzkrieg for the polls has been pending for a fortnight, leaving him with little to do but address press conferences, for which he is reportedly given notice of barely a few hours.