Yogendra Yadav meets top AAP leaders; signs of truce after late-night talks

Dissident Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Yogendra Yadav met Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal late on Monday, in signs of rapprochement between two rival factions in the two-year-old party after a tumultuous spell of allegations and counter-allegations.

Dissident Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Yogendra Yadav met senior party leaders late on Monday night, in signs of rapprochement between two rival factions in the two-year-old party after a tumultuous spell of allegations and counter-allegations.

A-file-photo-of-Yogendra-Yadav-Arvind-Kejriwal-and-Prashant-Bhushan

Senior AAP leaders Sanjay Singh, Kumar Vishwas, Ashutosh and Ashish Khetan were present at the meeting on the day a 'fresh and fit' Kejriwal returned to Delhi from Bengaluru after undergoing naturopathy treatment for cough and blood sugar.

"The meeting with Yogendra Yadav was positive… many more round of talks will take place," Vishwas said, as leaders of the AAP deliberated over battling a crisis that has cast a pall on the rookie party soon after its stellar show in the Delhi assembly polls.

Asserting it was a good beginning, Vishwas said "we shall overcome (the crisis in the party)".

The AAP has been embroiled in an internecine war in recent days, with the party sacking senior leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yadav from its highest decision-making body. It has been struggling to paper over the cracks after a series of leaked letters revealed two camps -- one supporting Kejriwal and the other comprising veterans like Yadav and Prashant who say the chief minister is dictatorial.

"A dialogue was initiated today. It was good. Talks have just started," Yadav said after the meeting.

Meanwhile, Bhushan, another dissident, said he had sought time for a meeting with Kejriwal. "I have said that I would like to meet him as soon as possible so that we can sit together."

Apart from the power struggle, a stinging row has hit the AAP of late, with former party MLA Rajesh Garg accusing Kejriwal of trying to poach six Congress MLAs to form the government last year. Garg also claimed that Manish Sisodia, now the deputy chief minister in Kejriwal's cabinet, was in touch with the Congress MLAs to lure them to float a new party and then support the AAP from outside.

As the rookie party grappled with a series of controversies, AAP national executive member Anand Kumar, however, expressed hope that Kejriwal's return from Bengaluru will lead to the "meeting of hearts and minds".

(with ANI inputs)