BackRift in AAP as Shanti Bhushan criticizes Arvind Kejriwal
Bhushan says Kejriwal is a great campaigner but lacks organizational ability
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New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) founding member Shanti Bhushan launched a scathing attack on former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Wednesday, questioning his organizational skills, in the process exposing what could be a tussle for power within the party.
Bhushan complained that there was no internal democracy in the party and suggested that Kejriwal assign the task of building the organization to someone else in the party. Bhushan made these comments to Times Now, a television channel.
“Arvind is a great leader. He is a great campaigner but he lacks organizational ability. He doesn’t have that kind of competence which can spread the message of the party all over India," Bhushan said.
The AAP countered the allegations. “The political party was formed on the basic principle of internal democracy and tries its best to adhere to it at all levels," it said in a statement. “Bhushan has access to everyone in the party and his colleagues expect him to raise any issue which he considers important, with them, as a senior." AAP alleged that Bhushan was annoyed at the party’s decision not to contest the upcoming Haryana assembly elections.
This is not the first time that the party has faced allegations. Several prominent members have left it over similar complaints, including legislator Vinod Kumar Binny, national executive member Ashok Agrawal and former national executive member Shazia Ilmi. “It is very sad that serious concerns and misgivings that I and Shanti-ji had expressed are not being taken seriously and any voice of dissent is being dismissed," Ilmi said. “There were problems between senior leaders in AAP and now they have started to come out. Kejriwal comes across as authoritarian. The problems within AAP will only help the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) which is the main contender against Kejriwal," said Badri Narayan, an Allahabad-based political analyst. “If these problems continue till the assembly elections, then it is possible that some of the members of AAP can join hands with BJP."
Gyan Verma contributed to this story.
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