Navjot Sidhu, Sulking For Months, Among Congress Campaigners For Delhi

Sonia Gandhi, Rahul Gandhi and Priyanka Gandhi Vadra have been named among 40 star campaigners for the Congress party in Delhi, which votes on February 8. Former Prime Minister Manmohan Singh has also been included in the campaign.

But the surprise on the list is cricketer-turned-politician Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has largely been away from active party politics since he quit the Punjab cabinet in July last year over sharp differences with Chief Minister Amarinder Singh.

Mr Sidhu was dropped as a Congress campaigner for the Haryana election last year. The outspoken leader's bonhomie with Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan - Mr Sidhu had attended his oath ceremony - became awkward for the Congress, with Amarinder Singh aka "Captain" complaining that he never asked for his permission to attend the event across the border. Photos of Mr Sidhu hugging Pakistan Army Chief Qamar Javed Bajwa also embarrassed the party.

Mr Sidhu quit after his portfolio was downgraded.

The 56-year-old has been sulking for a long time and did not even campaign properly during the national election last year.

The Chief ministers of Congress-ruled states - Amarinder Singh, Bhupesh Baghel, Ashok Gehlot, Kamal Nath, V Narayanasamy - have also been assigned to campaign in Delhi.

The list also includes four film stars-turned-politicians, Raj Babbar, Shatrughan Sinha, Khushbu Sunder and Nagma.

Sachin Pilot, Jyotiraditya Scindia and Randeep Surjewala have been named too, besides Congress MP Shashi Tharoor.

The Congress is contesting on 66 of 70 seats in the Delhi election. In the last election, it scored a duck, in contrast with three straight terms under Sheila Dikshit's leadership.

The party has highlighted those 15 years of its rule in its campaign theme song. Significantly, Sheila Dikshit's son Sandeep Dikshit, a two-time MP, has been left out.

Former President Pranab Mukherjee's daughter Sharmistha Mukherjee is also among the Congress's campaigners.

The results of the Delhi election will be declared on February 11.