Rajya Sabha seats rift divides Aam Aadmi Party ahead of five-year anniversary

A fresh rift has appeared in the Aam Aadmi Party that prepares to celebrate its five-year anniversary this month on November 26.

The decision over whom to nominate for its three Rajya Sabha seats, that is due in January 2018, has led to an internal clash in the party.

Ashutosh Singh and Sanjay Singh are the front-runners for the seat. One of the two blocs is led by Kumar Vishwas and the other comprises of political action committee (PAC) members Amanatullah Khan, Ashutosh, Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak.

Recent developments have indicated that the rift between poet-turned-politician Vishwas on one side and Chief Minister Kejriwal and his deputy Sisodia on the other has widened.

With a majority in the Delhi Legislative Assembly, AAP can send three people to the Upper House of Parliament. Vishwas sees himself as a strong contender for one of the seats.

Earlier Amanatullah Khan had accused Vishwas of being ana agent of th RSS. Vishwas took strong exception to that and threatened he would quit the party if action was not taken against Khan, who he described as just a "mask".

Khan was suspended, but the Vishwas camp said he was never out of favour. The Okhla legislator was included on crucial panels of the Delhi Legislative Assembly and Kejriwal attended an iftar party organised by Khan, which was seen as a clear snub to Vishwas.

The Kejriwal camp had its share of grievances against Vishwas, whom they disparagingly referred to as a part-time politician because of his professional commitments as a poet.

The camp also made references to a video in which Vishwas was seen making a veiled attack on the Delhi government over alleged corruption before the MCD polls.

This damaged AAP’s image ahead of the crucial polls said a party leader, who also claimed that Vishwas was not free to campaign for the MCD poll campaign.

Vishwas and Sisodia are known to be close childhood buddies from Pilkhuwa, a small town in western Uttar Pradesh. The bond between Kejriwal, a civil servant, and Sisodia, a former journalist, grew stronger when the two started an NGO to work for the downtrodden in Delhi and later for the RTI campaign.

The Vishwas-led camp is a newly formed undercurrent in the AAP which has mostly been driven by nationalist rhetoric- a new tone that is not suiting every member of the people-centric party.

Also Read: AAP comes out with the first list of 11 candidates for Gujarat polls

As per a report from The Indian Express, sources within the party state that there are slim chances of Vishwas being given a ticket, especially after he had threatened to quit the AAP in May in response to Khan’s attack.

The party plans to celebrate its five-year anniversary by holding a national convention on November 26, with the Centre’s plans and policies set on a palate for discussion.

Also Read: Govt should not penalise farmers for paddy stubble burning: AAP

A senior party leader's statement in the same report stated that such a small rift was not a botheration for the party, as, after the shocker of losing the Delhi MCD elections and Punjab Assembly polls, the victory in Bawana bypolls has pulled it to a stronger position.

Weeks back, Arvind Kejriwal had flown to Chennai to meet actor Kamal Haasan sparking possiblities of an alliance between the northern and southern power points. Haasan is expected to make a political announcement about his upcoming party.

(With additional inputs from PTI)