Congress rallies in Delhi

For the Delhi Congress, Sunday's election rally at the Dakshinpuri grounds finally erased the ignominy of the poor turnout in November ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections. In sharp contrast to the November rally, when former chief minister Sheila Dikshit had to plead with the crowd, "At least stay for Rahul Gandhi's speech," the ground was filled to capacity when the Congress vice-president took to the podium to speak this time. After the November debacle, the Bharatiya Janata Party and Aam Aadmi Party had lampooned the Congress whenever the latter's hold over the masses was discussed. So the record turnout for the April 6 rally at the same grounds put a cap on all that forever. Delhi Congress chief Arvinder Singh Lovely couldn't stop grinning after Gandhi praised him for the turnout.