Media reports are full of the news that Kumar Vishwas is thinking on lines of taking ‘sanyas’, having received a huge no from the public. However, let’s examine why he could not make it to the Lok Sabha.
For many years now Amethi has been synonymous with the Congress. Indira Gandhi herself never stood from the constituency but the Nehru-Gandhi family has reigned over the hearts of the electorate of this UP constituency for many decades now. No one might even remember the insignificant inroads made by the Janata Party or the BJP into this Congress fiefdom. Not much scope, then for AAP’s candidate, poet turned politician Kumar Vishwas to make a name for himself by taking on heavyweight Rahul Gandhi in his own home turf!
Vishwas was also of the opinion that his battle at Amethi was a lonely one. While the support and funds of the AAP were directed towards the high-profile battle of party captain Arvind Kejriwal, volunteers promised to aid Vishwas at Amethi were missing. AAP as a party was built on the ideals of anti-corruption and clean politics. A leader who seems to jealously blame redirection of party capabilities away from his own centre does not instill much confidence in the hearts of the voter, then.
If news reports are to be believed Vishwas’ family did not have much faith in his victory either. Why field such a candidate, one might ask…. AAP wanted its presence felt in the INC bastion. Add to this the woes of another popular figure – actress Smriti Irani. Agreeably low on political acumen, but high on recall value. Vishwas does seem to pale into oblivion here. While Vishwas did bravely fight the battle and declared that he would challenge Rahul, the main contender, lack of campaign support and media coverage seemed to be his greatest shortcomings.
