AAP to introspect performance in Punjab

THE IMMEDIATE FALLOUT OF THE PUNJAB LOSS WOULD BE TO REDUCE THE INVOLVEMENT OF AAP’S CENTRAL LEADERS IN THE PARTY’S STATE AFFAIRS

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leadership has launched an introspection exercise to analyse its performance in the Punjab assembly elections and come up with a strategy to move forward in the state.

National convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal will meet party leaders, including those from the state, to discuss the results on Wednesday.

The party won 20 seats in the elections, which was well below its expectations. “All our MLAs, senior leaders from the state, and those in charge will be present at the meeting. These results did not meet our expectations,” Punjab convenor Gurpreet Singh Waraich, who lost the poll from Batala, said. AAP and its ally Lok Insaaf Party finished with 22 seats in all, a notch above the ousted SAD-BJP combine’s 18.

The meeting will also decide the leader of the opposition in the assembly. “Our MLAs are firsttimers. The convener and other senior leaders will apprise them of policies of the party and set the ground for AAP’s role as the principal opposition party in Punjab,” Waraich said.

AAP leaders in Delhi have asked the Punjab unit to supply election performance statistics. There will be interviews with prominent losers, including Waraich and Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann, to identify the causes for defeat. “I will attend Parliament from Thursday and raise issues related to the state,” Mann said.

Sources said the Punjab results could force the party to redraw its strategy. The immediate fallout would be to reduce the involvement of central leaders in the party’s Punjab affairs.

Among those who are in the reckoning for the position of leader of the opposition is Dhakha MLA HS Phoolka, former journalist Kanwar Sandhu, and Bholath MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira.

Former CM Parkash Singh Badal and his son Sukhbir Singh Badal will also be in the opposition benches. “The party cannot allow them to occupy the opposition space. We need a strong strategy to counter both the Congress and SAD ,” a source privy to the introspection exercise said.