Devoted Congress members, non-working scanner at Sonia rally (Sidelights)

Thousands of people, including a large number of women, Sunday gathered to see and hear Congress chief Sonia Gandhi at her first rally for the Feb 7 Delhi assembly elections and expressed confidence at the party's chances.

Women, seated in a separate enclosure at the venue at a school ground in Mithapur village of Badarpur area of south Delhi, cheered loudly as Gandhi criticised the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Aam Aadmi Party.

Manju, a local resident, told IANS that this time around, the Congress would make a comeback as the BJP and AAP were not doing anything.

"The BJP did nothing in these many months. The AAP ran away when we voted for them... this time we are all with the Congress and hope the party would form the next government in Delhi," she said.

The people, who were taken inside the ground covered with the Congress' flag from all four sides, did not complain of her being late by an hour or so.

The Congress chief was to arrive at the rally venue by 2 p.m. but she reached there almost an hour late, and people, as they heard of her arrival, got up from their seats to have a glimpse of their leader.

"I came here at 1 p.m. as I knew there would be security issues but it was worth waiting for her," said Ragini, another Congress supporter.

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Scanner goes kaput

People attending Sonia Gandhi's rally were being let in only after thorough security checks.

Meanwhile, the Delhi Police scanner, used to check bags and other stuff, was not working and made entry difficult particularly for media persons carrying huge bags containing cameras and other things.

The bags were then checked manually making the entire process time-consuming.