In yet another blow to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a rebel group of seven party legislators has declared the party’s unit in Punjab “autonomous”, further deepening the fissures within the party.
The dissident group led by former opposition leader Sukhpal Singh Khaira passed a resolution to dissolve the party’s current organisational structure in the state during a well-attended volunteers’ convention in Bathinda city on Thursday.
The convention was a show of strength planned by Mr Khaira to put pressure on the party’s high command to reinstate him as the Leader of the Opposition and to declare that "the state unit will no longer tolerate their interference in the decision-making process."
“Since Punjab unit is part of a national party, it will keep the national body informed of its decisions,” the resolution read.
A total of six resolutions were passed during the convention which also unanimously rejected to accept Dalit leader Harpal Singh Cheema’s appointment as Mr Kahira’s replacement.
But just stopping short of a full-blown rebellion, Mr Khaira gave the leadership a week to review their decision to remove him from the post.
Next on the agenda, the rebel group will be touring every village in the state to garner support for a Third Front in Punjab against the currently ruling Congress party and the Shiromani Akali Dal- Bharatiya Janata Party (SAD-BJP) alliance, the other two alternatives in the state.
AAP, which is the main opposition in Punjab, has 20 legislators out of which only seven have come out in support of Mr Khaira.
The other 13 have reportedly approached the party chief Arvind Kejriwal and state unit in charge Manish Sisodia in Delhi, to sort out the latest infighting within the state’s party ranks.
