The rebellion of seven Rajya Sabha MPs, including Raghav Chadha, and their subsequent merger with the BJP has exposed cracks within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). With the state Assembly elections looming in a few months, the rebellion of five Punjab MPs from the Rajya Sabha has dealt a heavy blow to the AAP, which is currently in power only in Punjab.
As the party prepares to move against the move by Rajya Sabha MPs, the RJD leader from Punjab offers his advice to the party on communicating with lawmakers. Lok Sabha member Malvinder Singh Kang reportedly called for better coordination and dialogue by AAP with MLAs, MPs and ministers in Punjab. Follow live updates on the Raghav Chadha-led rebellion here.
Kang, a Lok Sabha MP from Anandpur Sahib, said AAP should have considered leaders from Punjab for Rajya Sabha, news agency PTI reported.
“Sandeep Pathak has not been contacted for one year.”
Kang highlighted AAP’s lack of communication with legislators and shared the example of Sandeep Pathak, who was one of the seven MPs who merged with the BJP. “Sandeep told me that he has not been contacted for the past year. If he had been contacted regularly, he would not have left the party,” Kang said, according to PTI.
Sandeep Pathak played a crucial role in guiding the AAP towards ousting the Congress from power and securing a huge win in the 2022 Assembly elections. His exit from the AAP is seen as a major concern for the party ahead of the elections in the state.
Kang also said: “Feedback should be taken from the right people, and workers working at the ground level should be empowered.”
How the insurgency hurt AAP’s chances in Punjab
The AAP received a major blow on Friday when Raghav Chadha, along with leaders Ashok Mittal and Sandeep Pathak, announced the merger of seven AAP MPs with the BJP.
The AAP had 10 MPs in the Rajya Sabha before seven of them decided to form a bloc and merge with the BJP, a number that constitutes two-thirds of the party’s total legislators in the Rajya Sabha. Punjab is at the forefront of this dynamic, given that six of the seven MPs who rebelled against the RJD are from Punjab, leaving the party with only one MP from the state holding the Rajya Sabha elections – Balbir Singh Seewal.
Read also: Kejriwal admitted Mittal to AAP, Mittal gave him his house to stay in, and they both left on the same day: What happened between them
Apart from the above names, Harbhajan Singh, Rajender Gupta, Vikramjit Sahni (all from Punjab) and Swati Maliwal have also switched to the BJP.
“Wall” storm against the Justice and Development Party’s representatives in Punjab
Hours after Rajya Sabha MPs announced their decision to merge with the BJP, graffiti bearing the name ‘Wall’ targeting rebel leaders were seen in parts of Punjab.
The outer walls and main gate of former cricketer Harbhajan Singh, the main entrance of the Phagwara campus of Lovely Professional University, owned by Ashok Mittal, and the walls outside Rajinder Gupta’s residence were seen spray-painted with the term ‘Gaddar’.
