Amid rumblings, Kejriwal to meet Punjab AAP leaders today
AAP's Arvind Kejriwal to meet Punjab leaders amid internal dissent post Delhi election loss. Discussions will focus on future strategies and addressing concerns.
Chandigarh
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal is set to meet Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann, ministers party MLAs and MPs in Delhi on Tuesday amid talk of growing internal dissension in the party’s state unit.
The meeting comes in the wake of AAP’s crushing defeat in the Delhi assembly election. According to party sources, the ministers and MLAs have been called by Kejriwal to discuss the Delhi assembly polls and take their feedback as they leaders had actively campaigned for the party candidates in the national capital. The discussions will focus on analysing the Delhi election results and strategizing for the Punjab polls scheduled in early 2027, they said. Over 200 party leaders, including Mann, cabinet ministers, MPs, MLAs and state unit office-bearers, were in Delhi for weeks to campaign for the party.
Tuesday’s meeting has gained significance amid reports of dissatisfaction within a section of the AAP’s Punjab unit regarding the government’s working and its perception at the grassroots level.
“The central leadership needs to streamline functioning to set things right before it is too late. There is no set agenda, but he (Kejriwal) may give everyone a pep talk and set a road map for ministers and legislators in tomorrow’s meeting,” said a senior state party leader, who did not want to be named.
AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang downplayed the reports of dissent and termed Tuesday’s meeting a “routine strategy session” being held by the national convener of the party. “Such meetings are a regular part of any party’s internal processes,” he added.
Speculation is also rife that some MLAs, who are unhappy with the leadership, may be in touch with other parties, particularly the Congress, which has created a flutter by predicting a vertical split in the ruling party following the debacle in Delhi.
Leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa said that over 30 AAP legislators are in touch with the Congress and ready to switch sides. “A leadership battle will ensue in the AAP over controlling the government in Punjab, and this will lead to a split,” he said.
Bajwa and BJP’s newly elected Rajouri Garden MLA Manjinder Singh Sirsa also claimed that the AAP was preparing the ground to oust Mann from the post of the chief minister. Bajwa said the party appeared to be in rescue mode in Punjab as it was anticipating a disastrous future in the border state. Sirsa said reports suggested that Kejriwal was trying to remove Mann by branding him as “incompetent”.
“He failed to fulfil his promise of giving ₹1,000 to women, was unsuccessful in curbing drug abuse and has worsened Punjab’s situation. Now, he wants to put all failure on Bhagwant Mann,” Sirsa posted on X.
Reacting to Bajwa’s claim, Kang said that the Congress leader was known for making baseless statements. “Bajwa is talking about AAP MLAs when his own Congress MLAs are not in touch with him. If they are, where is Sandeep Jakhar? Why did Dr Raj Kumar Chabbewal leave the party? His own brother, Fatehjang Bajwa, left the Congress and joined the BJP, and he could not stop him, the AAP leader asked, adding that the LoP was “daydreaming.” Kang also termed Sirsa and Bajwa’s statements regarding attempts to remove Mann as totally bogus and baseless. “These are all lies,” he said.