Kirti Azad has always been able to measure her opponents from 22 yards, but in the political arena, she has to show nous to tame the “unknown enemy” and this time it was former West Bengal BJP president Dilip Ghosh.
Azad, a member of the 1983 World Cup winning team and a former BJP legislator from Darbhanga in Bihar, surprised political heavyweight Ghosh by a significant margin of 1.38 lakh votes in Burdwan-Durgapur constituency in these assembly elections.
Azad said he was indebted to West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee for giving “new life” to his political career.
“I owe this to Didi (Mamata). “She showed faith in me and gave me a new chance at life.” Azad, one of Delhi cricket’s most colorful characters, said: PTI In an interview.
Although he is now venturing into a different arena, Azad couldn’t help but liken his triumph to cricket. “When you talk about cricket, the bowler is coming in front and you know which field the left-arm spinner or off-spinner set will be on.
“But in politics, you never know how many bowlers come from where,” Azad said, detailing the enormity of his fight.
So what did he do to overcome his obstacles? “Simple basics of cricket. Follow the process. Remain calm, speak sensibly, and tell them what you have done and what you want to do. “That’s it,” he added.
Ghosh is a fiery orator who never pulls any punches. So what was Azad’s strategy to counter such a firebrand politician? “Dileep Babu A very polarizing personality and a tough nut to crack. He wanted to have an ugly argument with me one on one.
“It is best not to reply to the barbs he throws at me, Mamata Didi or my political party, the Trinamool Congress. I always maintained that I came from a ‘bhadra’ (civilized) family,” he said.
Azad, an accomplished orator in his own right, wanted to participate but took a different stand. “I wanted a one-on-one discussion to discuss our respective visions for the Burdwan-Durgapur constituency.
“He (Ghosh) should tell people why despite being a Bengali, he did not fight for the rights of the people of the state for money worth Rs 1.64 billion to Bengal,” he added.
How difficult was it for you, as a non-Bengali, to fight in a Bengali village? Even the language was foreign to him.
“ Amaar Bangla Bolte Kono Osubide Naai (I have no problem speaking Bengali),” he said in Bangla to prove his point.
“My native language is Mithili and it has some similarities with Bangla. When I was out campaigning, I saw older people coming and participating in Kirti Da, Inter-Steel tournaments.
“We remember those days. Some people have seen me play in India and at Eden Gardens in Delhi. “The younger generation watched the movie ‘83,’ which captured the World Cup highlights and my character well,” he said.
Kirti Azad greets her supporters while campaigning in Nababhat. | Photo credit: PTI
Kirti Azad greets her supporters while campaigning in Nababhat. | Photo credit: PTI
However, his gratitude to Mamata often surfaced during their conversations. “I have known Didi for a long time since 1984 when my father (late Bhagwat Jha Azad) and Didi were cabinet colleagues in the Rajiv Gandhi government. She always used to tell me, ‘Kirti come because there are many of your people (Biharis) in Bengal.’
“She gave me love and guidance and told me that I would participate in the competition in Burdwan-Durgapur. It was a David versus Goliath fight with Dilip. BabuThere is no doubt about it,” Azad said.
“I told my wife Poonam that if my intuition was right, I would win by 100,000 votes. Didi’s welfare plan speaks for itself. Additionally, the middle class was also affected by rising prices. Didi is a cult. “She is an emotion,” she added.
Azad claimed that there was a lot of work to be done as former MP SS Ahluwalia had done precious little for the people of the region. In fact, Ahluwalia fought from a different constituency and lost by a landslide margin to veteran Bollywood actor Shatrughan Sinha.
“There are many PSUs in Durgapur where workers are always under threat of golden handshake without any rehabilitation plan.
“There is a demand for a flyover at the railway crossing at Burdwan. Former lawmaker Ahluwalia has never been here and has never listened to the plight of the people.” Azad is part of: WhatsApp Congratulatory messages are flooding in to the group ’83’, of which all 13 members won the World Cup at the time.
“Sunny bhai (Gavaskar) and Ravi (Shastri) were a day late in the US. Kaps (Kapil Dev) is my brother with whom I share a family-like bond. “Congratulations to all three of you.”
