Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) National Council meeting is always an occasion for high drama that leads to controversies and often exposes rifts within party leadership.
Be it the 2015 national council meeting in which the AAP's founding members and intellectual faces Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha were removed from the national executive or the one on Thursday, in which a sense of unease prevailed amid the widening rift between AAP convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal and senior leader Kumar Vishwas.
File image of Kumar Vishwas. AFP
It is for the first time that Vishwas, an national executive member, and Rajasthan AAP incharge—the state goes to the polls in 2018—known for his oratory skills, wasn't in the role of moderator. What's more, unlike his counterparts Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, Gopal Rai, and Ashutosh, Vishwas wasn't even listed as a speaker.
On Thursday, Vishwas, the man closely associated with Kejriwal after the party's landslide victory in the 2014 Delhi Assembly election, was on the other side of the dais.
Sources who were a part of the council said that Vishwas was upset over not being allowed to speak. And when Delhi deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia was about to address the gathering, some members of the council and invitees demanded Vishwas be allowed to speak.
Sisodia responded by asking how many would like to hear Vishwas speak.
“Nearly 70 to 80 members raised their hands," the source told Firstpost, adding that Sisodia then asked Vishwas to speak, but was rebuffed.
"Vishwas said 'let the proceedings continue as per the schedule'. He was visibly upset,” a senior council member, speaking on the condition of anonymity, told Firstpost.
After the meeting, Vishwas reportedly said: "Until now, I thought the BJP and Congress were my rivals. However, today I found out that it is the other way around."
Kejriwal, who was slated to give the concluding remarks, was conspicuous by his absence during the major part of the proceedings. According to sources, although the meeting began at 10.30 am, he came in rather late: At 4.15 pm.
The senior member of the council added: “This meeting is of utmost importance as it is the party's topmost decision making body. The presence of the party convener (Kejriwal) is must, like in any other political party. But he only arrived in time to make his concluding remarks. Many members found this odd. Isn't he supposed to be here to hear from other members from all over the country?"
To add to the intrigue, Vishwas tweeted around 5 pm:
ख़ुशियों के बेदर्द लुटेरो
ग़म बोले तो क्या होगा
ख़ामोशी से डरने वालो
'हम' बोले तो क्या होगा..??— Dr Kumar Vishvas (@DrKumarVishwas) November 2, 2017
A repeat of 2015?
File image of Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal. PTI
The council has 300 members, with party MLAs and corporators attending as special invitees.
The 2015 council meet saw political fireworkers after four senior leaders including Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan were removed from national executive.
Ahead of that meeting in May, the tension was palpable. On the one hand, Kejriwal had strong backing from his cadres, but on the other, a section supported Yadav and Bhushan. Slogans were even raised against Kejriwal, but at the end of the day the AAP supremo prevailed.
Similarly, ahead of this fifth edition of the council, tension was rife due to the ever-widening rift between Vishwas and the Kejriwal-Sisodia combine.
Source of rift
Vishwas has been at odds with the party ever since he questioned the leadership over a series of defeats, especially after the poor performance of AAP in the Punjab and Goa Assembly elections. The party losing its seat in the Rajouri Garden bypoll and the drubbing the AAP received in the civic body election in Delhi only added fuel to fire. Vishwas' attacks grew scathing.
The situation deteriorated after AAP's Okhla MLA Amanatullah Khan—considered close to Kejriwal—accused Vishwas of being an ‘agent of the RSS’. Taking strong exception, Vishwas sought action against Khan and the latter was suspended by the Political Affairs Committee (PAC). A committee was set to probe allegations leveled by Vishwas against Khan.
Although Khan was suspended, he was accommodated in the crucial panels of the Delhi Assembly. Kejriwal even attended an Iftar party organised by the suspended MLA. But on 30 October, the party revoked Khan’s suspension.
“Based on the probe panel’s report, PAC revoked Khan’s suspension. Apparently, the panel didn’t find anything wrong with Khan's conduct,” a senior AAP leader told Firstpost.
Which reportedly irked Vishwas and caused a further rift with party leadership.
What happens next?
The council discussed issues related to education and health, rising unemployment, ill-effects of demonetisation, the agrarian crisis, the party's plan to contest the Gujarat Assembly election and the civic body polls in Uttar Pradesh, which is new territory for AAP. The party also plans to contest the Rajasthan Assembly election in 2018, which Vishwas was selected to lead.
Three Rajya Sabha seats from Delhi will fall vacant in 2018. All three seats are to be filled by AAP candidates.
On a couple of occasions, Vishwas alleged that certain elements within the party were attempting to thwart his ascent to the Rajya Sabha.
And with the events that unfolded today, it will be fascinating to see if the AAP leadership is able to stave off the growing discontent and avoid a repeat of 2015.
Published Date: Nov 02, 2017 09:19 pm | Updated Date: Nov 02, 2017 09:30 pm
