AAP loses national council member

The Aam Aadmi Party got another jolt today as its national council member and social jurist Ashok Agarwal resigned from the post, accusing the party to be run like a "private company".

This comes days after its party candidate from Chandigarh -- Savita Bhatti stepped down saying the party was not giving appropriate time to her.

In his letter to the party convener Arvind Kejriwal, Agarwal accused the party of promoting individual interests and losing track of its aim to serve the common man.

"The connect of the Aam Aadmi is on wean and a group of elite individuals is promoted to take over the party. Aam Aadmi has taken a back seat and what's on the mind of such individuals is personal projection at the cost of that very Aam Aadmi vision," stated the letter.

Agarwal further said that the party has become "directionless" and "even people like me who are today feeling the party is functioning like a private company."

Agarwal, an advocate who has been associated with the party since its inception, is not the first one from the national council to step down.

Recently, the party has witnessed several cracks as there is a rising dissent among the senior members.

A member of the party's national council told Business Standard that Agarwal had applied to fight from the Chandni Chowk, a seat from where former journalist Ashutosh is contesting.

"What could one say if someone says ill things about the party for not being given a ticket?" said the senior leader. "And Agarwal had only attended a few national council meetings and hardly took any responsibility."

Agarwal did not reply to a message sent by Business Standard.

A few days back another national council member Ashwini Upadhyay was seen protesting outside Kejriwal's residence alleging the party president as a "CIA agent."

"We are not satisfied with the way tickets are being distributed in the party. When the party talks about swaraj, it doesn't implement the same in its party" said Upadhyay, who was also the President of the party's legal cell.

One of the founder members Madhu Bhadhuri had also distanced herself from the party after the Khirki extension case related to former AAP MLA Somnath Bharti. She had alleged party of mistreating woman leaders in the party.