The Sangh Parivar, against which I had been waging a war, misled the people. My opponents used the Election Commission and the bureaucracy to win a political battle.
Sentiment: NEGATIVE
I wasn't elected to avoid conflict. I was elected to represent the people of the 2nd District.
I became obnoxious to the Jacobins because I reprobated their aristocracy, which aimed at usurping all legitimate authority.
I was involved in the anti-war movement.
I was a political science student.
Politics was put in front of me. I do politics because it's the vehicle for change and because I happen to be good at it... I had this sort of calm fearlessness, that some would call foolishness.
I lost my election because of my campaign, not because of what anyone else did.
Although as a sailor I despised politics - for I loved my sailor's life and still love it today - conditions forced me to take up a definite attitude towards political problems.
I was losing interest in politics, when the repeal of the Missouri Compromise aroused me again. What I have done since then is pretty well known.
I campaigned on being a collaborative leader.
I had the vocation for politics. What I didn't have was any aptitude for political combat. I took the attacks personally, which is a great mistake. It's never personal: It's just business. It was ever thus.