Craving for attention

The Congress party's performance in the Jammu & Kashmir (J&K) Assembly polls came as a surprise for many, especially after a series of dismal results in Haryana and Maharashtra (both Congress-ruled states). A large part of the credit for the results went to former Union minister and Rajya Sabha Leader of the Opposition Ghulam Nabi Azad, who led the charge for the party in the state. Azad was much sought after by the media when he arrived back in the capital. But the attention showered on Azad made the likes of Anand Sharma, deputy leader of the Opposition in the Rajya Sabha, cringe. During Azad's absence in Parliament (while he was busy campaigning in J&K) Sharma had been projecting himself as the "acting leader of the Opposition" and formally stated so during a discussion in Parliament. This led to political parties taking jibes at him for trying to usurp Azad's position.