Even as Punjab lost a Cabinet minister in Union government after Mr Ashwani Kumar resigned as law minister, there are no tears in his home state.
The Congress workers in the state are not really upset by this development. The reason for this indifference for the political predicament of Mr Kumar being that he was never leader of the people in the true sense. Moreover, he rarely participated in party functions even in his home district of Gurdaspur. Despite his rise in Delhi, Mr Kumar always remained a rootless leader in Punjab. He contested one Lok Sabha election in which his security was forfeited. Mr Kumar belongs to Majha region of Punjab which has thrown many big leaders in state politics.
However, Mr Kumar failed to win the faith of MLAs and other party leaders.
The main charge levelled against Mr Kumar by party workers and leaders alike is not that he lacked mass appeal, but rather his inability to interact and connect with them. Many times during his tour to the state, local leaders complained of lack of intimation of his programme. He just made his presence felt in the rallies of Congress president Sonia Gandhi and vice-president Rahul Gandhi, leaders complain.
The other reason for total apathy towards the political fate of Mr Kumar is that despite his proximity to Prime Minister Manmohan Singh he failed to bring any big project or scheme to the area.