Fresh trouble for AAP, cracks appear in Punjab unit

CHANDIGARH: Barely has the controversy over the exit of founder members Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav from Aam Aadmi Party faded from public memory, new anxieties for the party are surfacing in Punjab. It is the only state from where the party won Lok Sabha seats.

Even though signs of tension in the party were visible in May after the Bhushan-Yadav expulsion, the disquiet in the state unit became clearer on Monday when a section of the state leadership not only questioned the recent organizational restructuring but also launched veiled attacks at convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur.

AAP's Fatehgarh Sahib MP Harinder Singh Khalsa had a "secret" meeting with Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi in Patiala on Monday to discuss the recent appointment of zonal in-charges in Punjab "without taking them into confidence". The remaining two AAP MPs from Punjab — Sadhu Singh (Faridkot) and Bhagwant Mann (Sangrur) — were travelling.

Sources said a section of the leaders don't get along well with the state convenor and Khalsa had given his feedback on the goings-on in Punjab to the AAP central leadership.

When contacted, Chhotepur said though he didn't think it was worthwhile to comment on an informal meeting of two MPs, he stood by the party's decision to go in for recent restructuring. "The central leadership is seized of the matter and they will intervene if they think fit," he said.

"Whenever there are changes, some people have objections and these things settle down with time. The argument that those appointed zonal in-charges don't have the experience, most of the candidates for Lok Sabha elections too were political novices," he said.

On July 4, party's state observer Sanjay Singh had announced major organisational restructuring in AAP's Punjab unit. To build a "robust and extensive" organisation in Punjab, the party announced appointments of 13 observers and coordinators at zonal level and formed several wings to deepen its presence. Nine Vidhan Sabha constituencies and one Lok Sabha constituency will be part of one zone each.

In May, Dharamvira Gandhi had openly sided with the group led by Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhudhan, displeasing national spokesperson and party in-charge of Punjab Sanjay Singh.