Dubai: Former income tax inspector and political rookie Arvind Kejriwal made a stunning debut in elections in December last year when he defeated three-term Congress chief minister Sheila Dixit by a handsome margin.
Kejriwal formed the government in Delhi but quit after 49 days when Congress and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) blocked his anticorruption bill, an issue that catapulted him to the national scene.
Since then, Kejriwal has emerged as an anticorruption champion and his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is preparing to fight national elections. Buoyed by Kejriwal’s impressive victory in Delhi, his right hand man Kumar Vishwas is now challenging the heir of India’s first political family, Rahul Gandhi, in his backyard.
Vishwas will fight the election from Amethi parliamentary seat, a stronghold of the Nehru-Gandhi dynasty. The 44-year-old poet-turned-politician’s plan to challenge the two-time MP and Congress leader Rahul appears audacious to many as Amethi is considered an impregnable fortress of the Nehru-Gandhi family. In the past, Amethi has elected Rahul’s mother Sonia and father Rajiv and his Congress party has lost Amethi only on two occasions — 1977 and 1998.
Vishwas, a teacher of Hindi Literature known for his fiery speeches and witty one-liners, is part of Kejriwal’s core group, which founded AAP. He is the mastermind behind the party’s catchy slogans and campaigns on social networking websites. He mobilised an army of young supporters during Delhi elections and led his party’s door-to-door campaign, a practice largely abandoned by most political parties who now rely on TV, newspapers and rallies to reach electorates. His strategy of coming face-to-face with voters paid off handsomely in the Delhi elections.
For the last two months, Vishwas has been camping in Amethi and moving from village to village in an attempt to cover around 1,200 hamlets and communities. In an exclusive interview with Gulf News, Vishwas attacks Rahul and Narendra Modi and says Amethi will redefine the country’s politics. Excerpts:
Why have you chosen to fight elections from Amethi?
Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh said a number of times that he is willing to leave the PM’s chair for Rahul Gandhi. This is an insult to India’s youngsters who do well in their lives by working hard and not depending on the legacy of their families. Dynastic rule is the root cause of corruption. Rahul’s silence on critical issues is irresponsible and he is unable to take a stand on corruption. That’s why I decided to fight from Amethi. This constituency is one of the most backward constituencies of Uttar Pradesh. Amethi lags behind on malnutrition and implementation of welfare schemes.
Some say you are taking on Rahul to gain publicity.
Kumar Vishwas doesn’t need publicity and I was popular even before joining politics. Also, I could have chosen a seat in Delhi if I wanted a hassle-free election. I am not getting publicity by standing against Rahul who has low IQ. Look at his performance — he has spent only 10 per cent of his parliamentary development fund and failed to implement his own government’s welfare schemes like Manrega.
AAP is against dynastic politics but Gandhi says his birth in the Nehru-Gandhi family was not his mistake.
Agreed it is not Rahul’s mistake but a large number of people voted for him out of their love for Rajiv Gandhi and sent him to parliament. But Rahul’s attendance in parliament was poor and he failed to ask even one question in Lok Sabha about Amethi in the last 10 years. As a result of his poor performance, Amethi lags behind other districts on several social parameters, including literacy and employment. What was he doing all these years? Moreover, his parliamentary development funds remained unspent. There are 13 villages which are yet to get electricity so many decades after independence and several communities have no access to drinking water.
What are the main issues in Amethi?
Amethi has no roads, no electricity and no health care facilities. Why are there good roads in Saifai, Lucknow, Noida and other cities but not in Amethi? If Rahul can travel on the 60km road that connects Amethi and his mother Sonia Gandhi’s constituency of Raebareli in three hours, I will not fight this election. It’s a national highway and takes five hours to commute between Amethi and Rae Bareli. Four pregnant women have had miscarriages on this road in the last year.
What are your promises to voters?
I am promising corruption-free good governance, I will ensure that money allocated for welfare schemes reaches the intended beneficiaries and effective utilisation of development funds. I promise that I hold officials and ministers accountable if they fail to bring development to Amethi.
Do you have money to fight elections?
Rahul Gandhi has given a half-billion rupee (Dh29.6 million) contract to a Japanese agency for his rebranding and public relations. But I will not spend more than Rs7 million — the limit set by the election commission. This money will be generated by appealing to people in India and abroad especially in the Arabian Gulf region and in the United States. Non-resident Indians donate in times of natural disasters and I will tell them that corruption is a similar disaster. It is also the responsibility of NRIs to fight corruption by helping my party.
What are your views on Narendra Modi? Once you compared Modi with Hindu deity Shiva.
I said that before joining politics in 2005 during a function in Gujarat where Modi was the host. My opponents are digging up old videos and uploading them on YouTube. I believe Modi, Kejriwal or Rahul Gandhi should not be given importance and parties should focus on issues instead of personalities.
Let people judge parties on the basis of their policies and their stand on corruption, Right To Information etc. I am with the AAP because my party is fighting against corruption and I will quit if AAP fails to highlight these issues.
A section of voters believes that Modi should not become the PM because of his record in handling Gujarat riots in 2002. Your party has not attacked Modi on this issue. Why?
That’s not correct. We have raised this issue on many occasions and are working on Hindu-Muslim unity. People of India will not accept Modi’s brand of divisive politics. Also, Modi is not sincere on the issue of dynastic politics because he is in alliance with several parties which promote dynasties. For example in Punjab, the ruling Badal family is Modi’s ally and we are against it. We have to purify Indian politics by removing four Cs: character, communal, corruption and criminal.
This is your first parliamentary election. How do you feel?
I believe a miracle is going to happen in Amethi and I am getting the same kind of vibes I got in Delhi where I won. This will be a historic election. I will win 200 per cent and my victory will send a strong message to the rest of India that voters are tired of dynastic politics and corruption.
Bobby Naqvi is Editor of Xpress, a weekly newspaper published by Al Nisr Publishing.
