The Aam Aadmi Party candidate from the East Delhi Lok Sabha constituency, Rajmohan Gandhi, on Monday said he did not want to seek votes in the name of his grandfather, Mahatma Gandhi. He was reacting to some AAP posters which asked people to vote for “Mahatma Gandhi’s grandson”.
Mr. Gandhi, who is an academic of repute, has an exceptional ancestry. Not only is he the son of Mahatma Gandhi’s youngest son Devdas, his maternal grandfather was C. Rajagopalachari, freedom fighter and the last Governor-General of India.
Some posters put by the AAP in several parts of the Parliamentary constituency read: “ Is baar imandaar ko vote dein. Mahatma Gandhi ke poutra Rajmohan Gandhi ko vote dein (Vote for an honest person this time. Vote for grandson of Mahatma Gandhi, Rajmohan Gandhi).”
Asked for his views on these posters, Mr. Gandhi said: “The AAP is not asking for votes on Mahatma Gandhi’s name. Yes, in some posters the party has described me as Gandhi’s son which is a fact. But certainly I do not wish to seek votes on Gandhi’s name.”
“I am not criticising AAP. I do not want people to vote for me just because I am Gandhi’s grandson. I want them to vote for me because of my works,” added Mr. Gandhi. He is a research professor at the Center for South Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Illinois. Mr. Gandhi is contesting from East Delhi, which for the last two terms has been represented by Sandeep Dikshit of the Congress, the son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit. Mr. Gandhi accused the Congress of misusing Mahatma Gandhi’s name.
