Sonia surprises cricket fans, joins the World Cup party

NEW DELHI: Just after midnight, traffic at the ITO crossing came to a standstill when the crowds spotted Sonia Gandhi waving to them from her Tata Safari. She reached out to the people, who surged forward to shake hand with her, and congratulated them for India winning the World Cup. ( Read: Frenzied celebrations across the country ) ( Read: Unlike in Chandigarh, charter flights buzz missing in city ) ( Read: India's cup of joy spills on to Mumbai streets )

The crowd went into raptures and what would have been a brief stopover stretched to about half-an-hour. Sonia was wearing a white sari and two other cars were escorting her. But any security, if present, was unobtrusive. ( Read: Fans cheer at halls and malls ) ( Read: Even pranksters had a field day at Wankhede ) ( Read: More play than work at offices ) ( Read: Lankans miss the home crowds ) ( Read: It's Indiaaah all the way )

People were busy clicking her photographs from their mobiles. "It was unbelievable. I was just passing by and saw a long jam at ITO chowk. Then I spotted her in her car, waving to the crowds. For a moment, I could not believe it was Sonia Gandhi. But finally, I managed to met her and shook hands too," said Ashish Chawla, a resident of Kailash Colony.

"Congratulations to everybody. We have won," Sonia was saying to everyone. While leaving, she told the bikers who were overexcited to see her, "Drive safe and all the best." Long after she left, the message seemed to have been lost on the bikers. They began doing stunts at the crossing, holding up the traffic and causing a nuisance.