Sukhpal Singh Khaira’s exit from AAP a ‘result of his political ambition’

Those who have closely watched Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who quit AAP on Sunday, say the present situation is a result of his adversarial politics and political ambition.

Rebel Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) legislator Sukhpal Singh Khaira, who quit the party on Sunday, is not known to tread a middle ground.

File photo of Sukhpal Singh Khaira who quit AAP on Sunday, January 6, 2019. (HT File)

His separation from the party was a foregone conclusion after his relationship with AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal reached the point of irretrievable breakdown. There was no moment of ceasefire, not even an ephemeral one, thereafter with even rapprochement efforts ending up making things worse. All this has happened in a span of five months following Khaira’s removal from the post of leader of opposition in the Punjab assembly in July 2018. The move led to a revolt by Khaira and seven other party legislators.

Till then, the two-time Bholath MLA had everything going for him. He was not only leading the party from the front, but also going after political rivals all guns blazing, as is his wont. He had even claimed the scalp of power minister Rana Gurjit Singh, a known political adversary, by digging up dirt on him, but then he turned against Kejriwal for tendering an apology to Akali leader Bikram Singh Majithia over drug charges to settle a defamation case.

While Khaira surely has a knack for spotting issues, ferreting out information and the gumption needed to take on the mightiest of rivals by calling a spade a spade, those who have watched him closely say the present situation is a result of his adversarial politics and political ambition. His overbearing style of functioning and penchant for publicity were seen as minuses by some of his erstwhile colleagues.

“Khaira puts himself before everything else with a holier-than-thou attitude. A major grouse against him that created rift in the party was the manner in which he exceeded his role as the leader of opposition and tried to run the entire party,” said an AAP legislator.

The former leader of opposition, who demonstrated a change in style and became more accommodating towards his colleagues in the rebel group, has managed to retain support of six of the 20 party legislators despite threats of disciplinary action by the party.

However, this was not the first time Khaira ran into trouble with his party bosses. During his Congress days, he had fallen foul of then Punjab Congress president Captain Amarinder Singh and some party leaders who saw him as over-ambitious and was sidelined.