Spells bigger trouble for AAP

Exposes Punjab versus outsider debate faultline, gives ammunition to opponents; a party on a roll till two months ago loses momentum

against the Punjabi AAP leaders – an issue that may potentially dent Kejriwal’s poll sweepstakes.

LOSING SIKH FACE

A prominent Sikh face of the AAP in Punjab, Chhotepur has been active in state politics for three decades. Despite his limited political appeal and support base, he was in the first crop of Punjab leaders to jump onto the AAP bandwagon before the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. With an Akali background, Chhotepur stood out in the AAP that has a dearth of local faces who really matter.

By axing Chhotepur, the AAP would try and take a high moral ground, pitching itself as a party with zero-tolerance to corruption. That, however, wouldn’t be without the risk of creating another splinter faction. It would add to a burgeoning list of Punjab leaders who have fallen out with AAP.

OPPONENTS SMELL AN OPPORTUNITY

The latest bout of bad blood comes at a time when AAP’s strategy to be first off the block by declaring 32 of the 117 candidates for the 2017 Punjab elections has been marred by rumblings of dissent among its supporters. A set of volunteers from Majha have broken away to form the AAP Volunteers Federation and joined hands with a front-in-the-making under suspended Patiala AAP MP Dharamvira Gandhi. Such convulsions hardly bode well for a party which derives its core strength from volunteers.

The string of controversies in the AAP has dimmed its sheen while lending its opponents enough ammunition. An escalating war of words in the AAP is music to the ears of its rivals. Both the Akalis and the Congress, who see the Kejriwal outfit as their common foe, will do all that it takes to exploit the AAP selfinflicted stumbles.