Satish’s ‘backroom boy’ was also Kalmadi aide

Satish’s ‘backroom boy’ was also Kalmadi aide

A man who perfected the art of being the backroom boy of people who mattered, Nachiketa Kapur suddenly found himself in front of cameras today, fielding questions and issuing denials.

Within hours of the WikiLeaks expose, Congress leader Satish Sharma distanced himself from Kapur, stating first that he had no aide by that name and within minutes clarifying that he did not know “anybody” by that name.

However, Kapur, who started out at the age of 18 as a Youth Congress Block (Rajinder Nagar) general secretary, told The Indian Express that he was a frequent visitor to Sharma’s official New Delhi residence on Gurdwara Rakabganj Road and, yes, American diplomats used to drop by for a chat.

“But since there was no money in the house, there was no question of showing them any war chests,’’ the 38-year-old asserted. “Nothing of the sort happened.’’

While the WikiLeaks controversy may be the first big scrap to involve Kapur, he has had an eventful career, both as the OSD (Officer on Special Duty) to then minister Renuka Chowdhury and as a “close confidant’’ of former Commonwealth Games Organising Committee chairman Suresh Kalmadi.

The OSD to Chowdhury while she held the Tourism portfolio in 2004, Kapur was promoted by her as her Personal Secretary when she moved to Women and Child Development. However, within three years, what was assumed to be a close association turned sour for reasons unknown, leading to a bitter falling out.

Kapur accuses Chowdhury of getting people to file false and fabricated complaints against him. “In the end, I was disgusted and I decided to resign from the ministry. And the persons who filed the complaints against me also withdrew them eventually,’’ he says.

But controversies surrounding his years with the fiesty minister trailed Kapur to his next assignment as head of the protocol unit of the CWG Organising Committee. Complaints landed up with the Sports Ministry on how he should not be in government employment.

While Kapur was part of the OC delegation that visited London as part of the Queen’s Baton Relay (QBR) ceremonies, within eight months of being in the panel, he quit.

In the long run, though, that might have proved good as he was out before the role and performance of each and every functional area head of the committee came under scrutiny of investigating agencies.

Kapur’s next port of call, Satish Sharma, didn’t surprise many. Earlier this year, the Gandhi family favourite was rumoured to be getting back a prime party post.

While that didn’t happen, the WikiLeaks expose may make it difficult for Kapur to return to the circuit of a prominent politician for a while.

However, he may yet remain a part of the Capital’s unofficial “diplomatic circuit”. He headed the foreign affairs cell of the Youth Congress under its presidents Satyajit Gaekwad and Manish Tewari, and is an active member of the American Council of Young Political Leaders (ACYPL).

It is Kapur who bi-hosts a bi-annual, well-attended dinner for the ACYPL delegation when it visits India. He was also part of the Indian ACYPL delegation that visited the US in 1996 and again in 2008 as an “election observer”.