At last, the decision has been made and declared by none other than Arvind Kejriwal. His companion Kumar Vishwas failed to get approval from the party for contesting the Upper House elections due on January 16. The poet’s expectations were squashed with a statement from senior party leader Gopal Rai.
However, Manish Sisodiya, Delhi deputy chief minister, had already made it clear that his name was not even discussed among 11 names. The choice of three candidates has been described as a masterstroke. The party, with 66 seats in the Delhi Assembly, is expecting to win.
The three names were the only majority choice. For Kumar Vishwas, it was not the most appealing decision. He expressed his disregard by posing himself as the sacrificial victim. The PAC, with its eight members, voted for Sanjay Singh, Sushil Gupta and ND Gupta respectively. Kumar Vishwas appeared to have accepted his political status. In the meantime, it has been maintained that Kumar Vishwas has not responded to Rai’s allegations openly.
Making a sarcastic remark about the party convenor Arvind Kejriwal, he emphatically said that this sort of martyrdom was acceptable to him. But he hastened to add that there was no need to insult the dead body. What he particularly aimed to highlight was that he had paid the price for speaking the truth. Further, he said that nothing in the party used to move without Kejriwal’s approval. It was quite hard to continue in the party following differences with him.
Criticising the two candidates, ND Gupta and Sushil Gupta, he asserted his position as a faithful party worker. He stated that he had obviously faced the penalty for speaking the truth. His views appeared to have upset the party high command. But he was saddened by their neglect.