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Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan were on Saturday ousted from the party’s national executive. High drama at the party’s national council meeting in the outskirts of this city ensured AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal’s writ will now run large not just within the Delhi government he heads, but also within the party.
Expressing disappointment at the “undemocratic” ways of the party, social activist Medha Patkar resigned from AAP.
Yadav and Bhushan cited “murder of internal democracy” and termed their expulsion as “unconstitutional”. They alleged “goondaism” was used to silence voices of dissent at Saturday’s meeting. The Kejriwal camp, however, attributed the ouster to the “numerical majority” of AAP members favouring the removal of Bhushan, Yadav, Ajit Jha and Anand Kumar from the body for “anti-party” activities.
More drama could be in store, with both sides planning their next moves. While AAP sources indicated the first task before the party was removing Yogendra Yadav from the post of national spokesperson, Prashant Bhushan would be removed as member of the party’s disciplinary committee.
The Yadav-Bhushan camp, meanwhile, is considering whether to move court against the “illegal” proceedings at the national council or to approach the Election Commission. An attempt to re-convene the national council, the party’s highest decision making body, with legitimate members and ensure the issue is discussed threadbare is also being considered. The chances of that, however, appear remote, with sources indicating the party is contemplating disciplinary action against the four “senior leaders” for anti-party activities.
The assertion of Kejriwal’s stamp on the party is, in many ways, the sidelining of the ‘senior leadership’ (Bhushan, Yadav and Kumar), with younger leaders (Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, etc) coming into the centre. While the former group insists the party adheres to its founding principles of “swaraj” and transparency, the latter is more focused on delivering results.
Opposition parties didn’t lose an opportunity to take jibes at AAP. National Conference’s Omar Abdullah tweeted, “To think that commentators were actually advising older political parties to be more like #AAP, seems #AAP has decided to be more like us”.
Expressing disappointment at the “undemocratic” ways of the party, social activist Medha Patkar resigned from AAP.
Yadav and Bhushan cited “murder of internal democracy” and termed their expulsion as “unconstitutional”. They alleged “goondaism” was used to silence voices of dissent at Saturday’s meeting. The Kejriwal camp, however, attributed the ouster to the “numerical majority” of AAP members favouring the removal of Bhushan, Yadav, Ajit Jha and Anand Kumar from the body for “anti-party” activities.
More drama could be in store, with both sides planning their next moves. While AAP sources indicated the first task before the party was removing Yogendra Yadav from the post of national spokesperson, Prashant Bhushan would be removed as member of the party’s disciplinary committee.
The Yadav-Bhushan camp, meanwhile, is considering whether to move court against the “illegal” proceedings at the national council or to approach the Election Commission. An attempt to re-convene the national council, the party’s highest decision making body, with legitimate members and ensure the issue is discussed threadbare is also being considered. The chances of that, however, appear remote, with sources indicating the party is contemplating disciplinary action against the four “senior leaders” for anti-party activities.
The assertion of Kejriwal’s stamp on the party is, in many ways, the sidelining of the ‘senior leadership’ (Bhushan, Yadav and Kumar), with younger leaders (Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh, etc) coming into the centre. While the former group insists the party adheres to its founding principles of “swaraj” and transparency, the latter is more focused on delivering results.
Opposition parties didn’t lose an opportunity to take jibes at AAP. National Conference’s Omar Abdullah tweeted, “To think that commentators were actually advising older political parties to be more like #AAP, seems #AAP has decided to be more like us”.
ALSO READ: Charges, counter-charges fly as fissure in AAP widens
Bharatiya Janata Party leader and Finance Minister Arun Jaitley said, "With a lot of expectations and high hopes, the people of Delhi had chosen the government. The promises that AAP and its leaders have made to the public, they must fulfil…They should not let this historical opportunity go waste just because of immature politics."
The drama, played out on television, through social media and press conferences on Saturday, can be traced back to May 2014. At that time, Kejriwal had tried to ensure AAP formed government in Delhi, Yadav and Bhushan had protested against the move. One of the five demands of the duo was the party send sting tapes of Kejriwal allegedly indulging in horse trading with Congress MLAs to the Lokpal for a probe. This was rejected by AAP and dismissed by Ashutosh, a Kejriwal loyalist, as a move to "oust Kejriwal as national convenor".
Among the other demands of Yadav and Bhushan was autonomy for states to decide on fighting locals polls and forwarding cases of disciplinary violations by party members to the Lokpal. The duo also demanded vacant posts in the national executive be filled by independent members and the party adopt the Right to Information fully.
On Saturday, Bhushan reiterated his allegation that Kejriwal was dictatorial, saying, "I failed in my attempt to curb his dictatorial tendencies."
The split in the party comes within a month of its landslide victory in the Delhi Assembly polls. The day began with Kejriwal's supporters demanding the removal of "traitors" Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan.
While the Kejriwal camp claimed 247 members supported a resolution for the ouster of Yadav and Bhushan (with eight voting against it and 54 abstaining), the process was challenged by the Yadav-Bhushan camp. There was no clarity of how many of the 311 members present at the meeting had legitimate voting rights, especially as 67 MLAs at the meeting weren't council members and had no voting rights.
Yadav and Bhushan demanded a secret ballot, which was rejected.
Earlier, Kejriwal, who addressed the meeting for 45 minutes, spoke against the duo and clarified he would not work with them.
In a series of press conferences, the two sides traded charges. Both Yadav and Bhushan reiterated their "unconditional apology" to the party's volunteers and supporters across the country, who were let down by the infighting.
Ashutosh, however, said, "Such things happen in a democracy."
FROM FRIENDS TO FOES
2007–2011: The India Against Corruption movement files a series of RTIs probing corruption in the 2010 Commonwealth Games; it had started with Arvind Kejriwal and Prashant Bhushan as members
2011: India Against Corruption gains prominence in its fight for Jan Lokpal Bill
Jun 2011: Psephologist and political commentator Yogendra Yadav comes on board
Nov 24, 2012: Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan join hands with Arvind Kejriwal to form the Aam Aadmi Party; split in IAC as Anna Hazare disapproves of a political party
Dec 2013: Yadav is the brains behind the party’s manifesto for the Delhi polls of 2013. The AAP contests Delhi elections and forms government with Congress support
Feb 2014: AAP quits after 49 days of rule
May 2014: AAP contests elections countrywide, allegedly at the behest of Yadav, despite Kejriwal being against it; AAP is routed, bags only 4 seats
Feb 10, 2015: AAP wins Delhi polls with 67 out of 70 seats; chants of “paanch saal Kejriwal”
Mar 4 , 2015: Yadav and Prashant Bhushan ousted from the political affairs committee
Mar 17, 2015: Yadav and Bhushan issue a public letter putting across their demands for transparency and internal democracy
Mar 28: Reconciliation talks break down between the Kejriwal camp and the Yadav-Bhushan camp
Mar 28: Yadav and Bhushan ousted from national executive committee of AAP
