AAP-HEAVAL: 4 REASONS WHY PARTY IS IN TURMOIL IN PUNJAB
The Aam Aadmi Party is facing siege from within — just a year after the 2014 Lok Sabha juggernaut in Punjab. First, the unceremonious expulsion of Dr Daljit Singh, chief of party’s state disciplinary committee; then two of the four AAP MPs revolted against Arvind Kejriwal. At the heart of this internal upheaval are clashing chief ministerial ambitions and egos.
1 ORGANISATIONAL MESS
The central leadership has been trying to directly run the party affairs in Punjab. Many unsung heroes who nursed the party silently were uprooted without assigning any reason. For example, Sumel Singh Sidhu, who was convener of the election committee in Punjab during the Lok Sabha polls, was thrown out. Similarly, many other party foot soldiers were shown the door. Recently, the state was divided into 13 zones. The central leadership posted 13 observers from Delhi to head these 13 zones. “They want to control the Punjab unit from Delhi as if we are all idiots here,” says Amritsar eye-surgeon Daljit Singh who got the boot for criticising the recent organisational overhaul.
2 KEJRIWAL’S DICTATORIAL STYLE
Majority of the AAP leaders uniformally describe Arvind Kejriwal as authoritarian and dictatorial who, they say, is neither a politician nor academician. Kejriwal is seen to be deliberately creating chaos in Punjab to have a tight grip on the warring factions. “It’s operation cleanliness by Kejriwal in Punjab. He doesn’t tolerate difference of opinion. He lacks confidence and doesn’t let bright people emerge as he feels insecure. Thus he becomes offensive. He talks about federalism but is an authoritarian. It was Punjab which gave him four MPs. Now he does not trust Punjab. He does not want to strengthen any state unit due to his own insecurities,” says Prof Manjit Singh, ex-AAP leader.
3 FOUR MPs AND FIVE CM HOPEFULS
Even the AAP candidates in the fray were surprised by the manner the voters backed them in the Lok Sabha polls in Punjab. This unexpected response injected chief ministerial ambitions, especially in Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann who has been positioning himself as the voice of people of Punjab. Not only the four MPs but other leaders nurse the dream of becoming the CM. “The central leadership is aware of ambitions of all frontline lead- ers. Some MPs hold grudge that they didn’t get respect from the leadership. This is another reason for the tussle among the MPs and state leaders,” says an AAP leader.
4 TURF WAR
Insecurity of the state leaders and top AAP leadership trying to control Punjab the “way British ruled India” has also fuelled the turf war. There is a massive trust deficit among the state leaders. State convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur is accused of creating a parallel set-up, while the central leadership is being seen playing the politics of divide and rule. MPs Dr Dharamvira Gandhi and Harinder Singh Khalsa are seen to have sympathy for the purged leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan. “If the dignity of the main Punjab AAP leaders is not restored, they will fight in true Punjabi spirit. They will not tolerate the way Punjab is being colonised because they are confi-dent of their capabilities and political vision, which they have already proved during the Lok Sabha polls,” says an AAP leader.