‘No mass appeal, not serious enough’ says senior Congress leader, A H Vishwanath

Mysore: Former MP and senior Congress leader, A.H. Vishwanath added fuel to the Priyanka Lao, Congress Bachao cries within a section of the party in the face of its poll debacle in Maharashtra and Haryana, by accusing Congress vice-president, Rahul Gandhi on Monday of not “being serious enough” to lead the party to victory, and even worse, holding up Prime Minister Narendra Modi as a good example of active leadership by contrast.

Asked if Mr. Rahul Gandhi was capable of pulling the Congress out of the current crisis and help it regain lost ground, Mr. Vishwanath told reporters here candidly: “Mr. Gandhi is competent, but lacks seriousness and mass appeal unlike Prime Minister Narendra Modi. Mr. Modi is serious and achieves what he aims for, but Mr. Gandhi lacks this quality.”

The former MP claimed he had suggested to the Congress central leadership as far back as two months ago to give Ms. Priyanka Gandhi a larger role in party matters. “Honest introspection and taking hard decisions is the only way forward for the Congress party,” he underlined.

But he refused to endorse the BJP’s claim that the Modi wave was responsible for the party’s performance in Maharastra and Haryana. “I agree there was a Modi wave prior to the Lok Sabha elections, but it has become diluted in the months lager. Assembly elections in Maharashtra and Haryana were state polls. The Congress lost in these two states because of anti-incumbency, not the Modi wave,” he asserted.