Former cricketer Mohammad Azharuddin, who is the Congress candidate for this Lok Sabha seat, on Tuesday said late prime minister Rajiv Gandhi had asked him to join politics.
Azharuddin, who was in Moradabad for the first time after his candidature was announced, said that Gandhi, who was then the prime minister, had met him in Kanpur when he was playing a Test match and asked him to join politics.
The former skipper told reporters that he was active in cricket at that time and could not join public life.
However, he did not mention the exact year.
Azharuddin was replying to questions on what inspired him to become a politician when he had already got fame and acclaim as a sportsman.
The former cricketer said that he now decided to enter politics to serve the nation.
On his reasons for joining the Congress, he claimed that the party is the only one which has stability, coordination and secularism.
Asked about choosing Moradabad, the former captain said he was invited by party President Sonia Gandhi to Delhi, who asked him to contest elections from anywhere.