Rising number of resignations in AAP raises questions around Arvind Kejriwal's leadership

Two senior leaders from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) recently quit the party citing personal reasons. Ashutosh and Ashish Khetan actively represented the party on television and were avid campaigners.

Many senior leaders of the party have left since it came to power in New Delhi in 2015. This has raised many questions around the leadership of AAP chief and Delhi Chief Minister, Arvind Kejriwal.

There were reports suggesting that Ashutosh left the party because he was upset about not being offered a Rajya Sabha seat. He was part of the party’s Political Affairs Committee. Khetan maintained that he was quitting to pursue a career in law and that this should not reflect badly on the party.

Khetan also resigned as vice-chairman of the Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission, saying the tussle between the Kejriwal government and Lieutenant Governor Anil Baijal was frustrating.

After the departure of Yogendra Yadav, Ajit Jha, Anand Kumar and Prashant Bhushan, many other senior leaders including Medha Patkar and Mayank Gandhi have also left the party.

Pankaj Gupta, national secretary of AAP, told Scroll, “They left due to personal reasons. It is laughable the things that are being said about their exit. It is a big loss to the party but there is no animosity. We respect their personal decision.”

AAP has been in ‘self-destruction’ mode ever since it ousted its founding members, said Praveen Rai, a political analyst. “The anarchist brand of politics practiced by AAP with a strong pitch on false propaganda earned some political brownie points initially, but it proved detrimental in the long run,” he added.

The party is seen to be one which is always in a hurry. Its work has been lauded in the state, especially for healthcare and educational initiatives. However, incessant resignations of senior leaders have left people questioning what the party stands for.

Mayank Gandhi, who was AAP’s national executive in Maharashtra, said the recent resignations have been more about position and power than principles. Gandhi wrote an open letter to Kejriwal after AAP lost Delhi municipal elections last year. He accused Kejriwal of wanting to manipulate the support to his party to protect himself as a candidate for prime minister.

Commenting on the party’s prospects in 2019 after major leaders resigning, Rai said, “The defeat of AAP in the municipal polls revealed that the electorate of Delhi has rejected the kind of party politics it ushered in. The desertion of prominent leaders is creating negativity among the people of Delhi and AAP runs the risk of being wiped out from the political landscape of the national capital.”

Pankaj Gupta, however, said it is the party’s work which speaks volumes for it. “People will keep leaving and new faces will keep joining. We have to fill the void they leave and create a new push.”