Rajya Sabha snub: Why Kumar Vishwas remains the bone in AAP's throat
Kumar Vishwas was the quintessential trump card for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). A poet, artist, crowd-puller and, most importantly, not aligned to any political party. He was the poet-politician in team Kejriwal, a close associate.
In news visuals from 2011, Kumar Vishwas can be seen standing tall at the Ramlila Maidan, moderating the historic India Against Corruption (IAC) movement.
Packing punches with his poetry and anecdotes, Vishwas attracted and successfully retained the crowd that thronged in thousands. While Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and Anna Hazare charted out secret strategies, Vishwas crooned his best songs, accompanied by Kiran Bedi, waving the tricolor on stage. People from the Hindi heartland loved his poetry, and every time he sang, the crowd-favourite "Koi deewana kehta hai..", he was greeted with a thunderous applause.
When the group split to form a political party, Vishwas strolled into the Kejriwal camp. The group attended party events, film outings, family gatherings. Vishwas was, most certainly, considered a member of the newly formed AAP coterie.
However, it all went downhill when ambitions arose and conspiracies started to be hatched. The man, who was never seen as a threat to the top leader, suddenly became an interference, an irritant.
But Kumar Vishwas has always been an enigmatic, elusive figure in the AAP. In close proximity to top leadership and decisions, but never too engrossed. When the party issued a gag order during its troublesome tenure with news channels, Vishwas continued to give interviews. He remained vocal about his personal views and maintained that Arvind Kejriwal is only a friend, not a boss.
As a reporter having extensively covered the Aam Aadmi Party since its inception, I can say this with certainty that Kumar Vishwas had big ambitions and deliberately stayed away from state-level politics. The party took Vishwas for granted because he did not seem to demand a position. He remained a neutral figure when Delhi Assembly election results were declared, he obeyed the party "high command's" decision to contest from Amethi, and also did not express interest to take on any bureaucratic-level work.
In fact, ever since 2014 Lok Sabha elections, whispers started doing the rounds about Vishwas as the likely frontrunner from AAP to be nominated to the upper house for Parliament. He seemed to be a perfect fit for the job, a vocal party member who will strongly defend it as a member of Parliament. Sources close to Vishwas add that on multiple occasions, Kejriwal and Sisodia assured him of a seat in Rajya Sabha. An opportunity that Vishwas, interestingly, never showed disdain for. Probably, even harboured the desire along the years.
But cracks surfaced when Kumar Vishwas was not chosen to campaign for Punjab elections. Punjab perhaps seemed winnable to the AAP with leaders particularly focussed on the state. Some sources close to Vishwas also raised allegations about pro-khalistan groups approaching the AAP during Punjab elections. That Vishwas had spoken against it apparently did not go down well with party leaders. A claim that could not be verified. Vishwas, in any case, was conspicuous by his absence.
The fissures widened when MLA Amanatullah Khan made serious allegations against Vishwas and the latter demanded that either Khan to be suspended from the party or he will leave. MLAs started queuing up for Vishwas. As TV channels started to flash news of two camps within the party - a worrisome reminder of the Bhushan-Yadav controversy - Kejriwal could not afford further disintegration, especially of a member who was well aware of the skeletons in the party's closet. The senior-most leader arrived at the doorstep of Vishwas late at night and whisked him away in his car. The next morning, frayed nerves were calmed. Or so it seemed.
Instead, after a brief lull, party insiders openly accused Vishwas of leaning towards the Modi brand of the BJP, alleging that his support to the surgical strike and demonetisation was unwarranted. The pitch of his "nationalistic" posts were higher than the AAP's standard reactions on political issues.
Vocal and aware of his star status, Vishwas was carving out his own support base. Kejriwal and Sisodia could do little to stop him. When Kapil Mishra rebelled and was accused of hatching conspiracies with the BJP, the AAP leaders expected Vishwas to take a stand against Mishra, something that he never did.
On social media, cryptic messages against Vishwas turned into direct accusations. Young workers started to accuse him of blatant disregard for party norms. Anger was growing and it became apparent that Vishwas was being isolated.
A party volunteer told me two days ago that in case Vishwas is nominated by AAP for the January 16 Rajya Sabha elections, many workers were prepared to vote against him. The trust on Kumar Vishwas had waned out. All sources confirmed beforehand that the poet was not in the nomination list.
Today, as Manish Sisodia announced the three AAP candidates for Rajya Sabha elections, for the first time his tone was noticeably hesitant. It raised a question among news reporters if Sisodia was not in complete agreement with the decision. Sisodia is an old friend of Vishwas, their families have shared decades-old associations. Vishwas though walked out with a smile, and spewed venom, sugar-coated with sarcasm.
"I have been punished for speaking the truth on various issues. I was told by Arvind Kejriwal at a meeting that you have died, but we will not let you become a martyr... Today, I can say that I accept martyrdom, but want to add that every battle has a norm, do not dishonour the martyr's dead body. Do not spread foul smell."
Vishwas is currently AAP's election in-charge in Rajasthan. It remains to be seen if he would continue with the responsibility, or fade into political obscurity? Or, just like earlier, he will open a new deck of cards to win a losing battle?