New Delhi
Kumar Vishwas has been shunted out of a key post by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which he founded along with Arvind Kejriwal and three others. He will no longer be convenor of the party in Rajasthan, a post that he was given a year ago as part of a peace deal after his virtual rebellion against the leadership. Deepak Bajpai will replace him, AAP said today, announcing that it would contest the Rajasthan election “with full vigour”.
“Deepak Bajpai has been given the charge so that he can stay in Rajasthan and strengthen the organization and prepare strategy for the polls later this year,” said Ashutosh, the national spokesperson of AAP.
The party said Kumar Vishwaas was not able to “devote his time” to the state.
“Kumar Vishwas was not able to spare enough time for election preparations due to his preoccupations,” said Ashutosh.
The 47-year-old poet-turned-politician has been a rebel for over a year but he has stopped short of quitting despite his growing isolation and distance from colleagues. Neither has AAP taken any action against him, but it delivered an unmistakable message when Kumar Vishwas – known for his oratory – was not given a Rajya Sabha place.
Kumar Vishwas’s exit from the role in Rajasthan was in the works as he had reportedly stopped campaigning in the state.
Sources close to him said that Arvind Kejriwal and other leaders had ignored his suggestions on Rajasthan. One was to open a bank account to deposit donations to the party for use in the polls and the campaign.
The sources say Kumar Vishwas, once a constant by the AAP chief’s side and very close to him, is not in his trusted circle anymore.
Ties between the two have been unravelling since the Punjab election, when Kumar Vishwas was not included in the campaign.
After the election Kumar Vishwas openly criticized the AAP leadership for the Punjab election defeat.
Kumar Vishwas nearly quit the party when he was branded a “BJP-RSS” agent by a lawmaker, Amanatullah Khan, who also accused him of planning a “coup”. He relented when the party suspended Amanatullah Khan and also made him convenor of Rajasthan.
Sources say, however, that the doubt planted by the “coup” story stayed and led to increasing bitterness.
But both sides are unwilling to make the first move.
