AAP's Kumar Vishwas can demolish BJP's fake nationalism in Rajya Sabha, says Hardik Patel

Kumar Vishwas is one of the founders of the party. He is also a popular poet with quite a following.

IndiaToday.in  | Posted by Amit Vasudev
New Delhi, January 2, 2018 | UPDATED 16:59 IST

Highlights

  • 1
    AAP is yet to announce names of the leaders who will represent them in RS.
  • 2
    Kumar Vishwas's name did not figure in the names doing the rounds.
  • 3
    January 5 is the last date for nomination for these seats.

The Aam Aadmi Party is yet to announce the names of the three leaders who will represent the party in Rajya Sabha. Will Kumar Vishwas be one of them? The suspense over Kumar Vishwas is giving even outsiders the opportunity to take a swipe at the party.

January 5 is the last date for nomination for these seats.

Kumar Vishwas is one of the founders of the party. He is also a popular poet with quite a following. Since the Aam Aadmi Party came to power in Delhi, Kumar Vishwas has been made to look like an outsider within the party and this has not gone down well with supporters.

Now, Hardik Patel, the young Patidar agitationist in Gujarat has tweeted wondering why AAP was unwilling to send Kumar Vishwas to Rajya Sabha. He said Kumar Vishwas could demolish the BJP's fake nationalism in parliament.

The tweet comes after reports suggested that senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh's entry to Rajya Sabha was near-certain and the party was looking at choosing from Meera Sanyal, Naveen Gupta, Sushil Gupta and the poet Imran Pratapgarhi. AAP had also reached out to former BJP leader and now a bitter Modi critic Arun Shourie and former RBI chief Raghuram Rajan, but neither of them seem to have shown any inclination to represent the party.

Since Kumar Vishwas's name did not figure in the names doing the rounds, his supporters have begun mobilising on social media. A faction the party has even organised protest meetings to assert their support for Kumar Vishwas.

Party chief Arvind Kejriwal and Delhi Deputy CM Manish Sisodia, who are on vacation, are expected to announce the names after a meeting of the political affairs committee on Wednesday.

Kumar Vishwas has been at the centre of controversies within AAP in spite of being one of its most prominent voices. Amanatullah Khan, AAP MLA from Okhla in Delhi, once launched a vicious attack on Kumar Vishwas and the MLA was suspended from the party only to come back, much to Kumar Vishwas's chagrin.

Kumar Vishwas has repeatedly said that he was not looking for power or position. Party's bossman Arvind Kejriwal however hasn't had a smooth ties with Kumar Vishwas. Arvind Kejriwal, without having ever naming Kumar Vishwas, has said people not happy with the party's ways of functioning were welcome to leave.