What's The Truth Behind People Leaving Aam Aadmi Party?

By Likha Veer | INNLIVE

THE BIG TOP STORY The Aam Aadmi Party continues to take blows from within. Even as the party diverts all its energies to the big contest in Varanasi where Arvind Kejriwal takes on Narendra Modi in a David vs Goliath contest on May 12, elsewhere members keep deserting it. In the latest in what has become almost a weekly affair, Maulana Qazmi, a member of the AAP national council, quit on Tuesday. 
Following the ritual of calling a press conference to deliver the parting kick followed by many before him, he called Kejriwal's outfit a 'fraudulent entity'. "They have breached the trust of the voters," Maulana told about his former leaders while speaking to INNLIVE. "Arvind Kejriwal was in touch with Naxals... I was sidelined by him after December 28 when they formed the government in Delhi," he added. Asked why he kept silent for so long and coming at a time when the leaders are busy fighting crucial elections whether this does not look motivated, he refused to answer.

Curiously, many of the AAP members quitting the party have been claiming to be closely associated with it from the beginning, while sources inside the party say most of these people had been fringe players at the best and had no role to play in the party's affairs; some even were never members of the party. 

The trend (of people quitting the party) speaks of motives, says Anand Kumar, senior leader and the party's candidate from North-East Delhi parliamentary constituency. When the motives are not fulfilled, they react this way, he adds. The trend, which was initiated by rebel MLA Vinod Binny months ago, has since been followed by a number of prominent members of the party. 

National executive member Ashok Aggarwal left the party recently expressing displeasure at the way the party has been functioning. Barring Madhu Bhaduri, a founding member who left the party following the infamous Khirki raid by the then AAP minister Somnath Bharti, all others have quit blaming the leadership for lack of accountability and being undemocratic in decision-making. 

Bhandari said she was displeased with the way the party treated women. Prior to Qazmi, Ashwini Upadhyay, another founding member, had left in a similar fashion. He had said that the AAP had let down its supporters and voters. His action was in the backdrop of his being denied a Lok Sabha ticket. "No due procedures were followed while distributing a ticket. 

There was no internal democracy in place," Upadhyay said. Among others present at Qazmi's media event was Ashok Pandit, a filmmaker from Mumbai. He claimed he was among the founder members of the AAP and got disenchanted later on. "There are other Bollywood celebrities like Anupam Kher and Madhur Bhandarkar are also against the AAP," claimed Pandit. 

While Kher's wife is a BJP candidate from Chandigarh, Bhandarkar has voiced his support for the BJP's PM candidate Narendra Modi. Pandit, known to be close to the Indian Right wing in his views, refused to answer when asked if the names he cited were not BJP supporters. A source in the AAP, claimed that Pandit has never been a member of the party. 

While it appears that there are clever efforts to destabilize the AAP through the resignation drama, not all is hunky-dory with the party."The ticket giving process is only overseen by Arvind Kejriwal and the PAC (parliamentary affairs committee) has always been overlooked," says Ilyas Azmi, a member of the PAC. "

Most decisions in the party are taken by a couple of leaders. Even before taking the decision of forming the government was not taken in consultation with the PAC, even when the members were all present in Delhi," he told Firstpost over the phone.