Friday, 19 January 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is expected to appoint office bearers in Uttarakhand by the end of this month after several senior leaders and members recently left the party. The general secretary of AAP and Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, Sandeep Pathak is currently working on who will be appointed in the executive body of the party’s State unit, AAP leader and former spokesperson of the party’s Garhwal division Ravindra Anand said.
The senior leader Jot Singh Bisht who was the state convenor of the party left AAP along with several others and joined the BJP recently. He and others accused the senior AAP leaders in Delhi of ignoring the party leaders and members in Uttarakhand. They claimed that they felt restricted and neglected by the party at a time when all should be active ahead of the elections of Lok Sabha and urban local bodies. They said that it has been about three months since AAP senior leaders announced the dissolution of all of its units in Uttarakhand. They have not appointed new office bearers since then which has severely affected those who were working for the party religiously for a long time.
However, Anand said that it is normal for any party to take a few months to appoint office bearers and those who have left the party should have had some patience. “The Congress took two years to appoint their party’s national president. Such decisions are not taken in a rush. Politics is not a short term practice but a long term commitment. All those who have left the party should have been patient regarding the party’s decision rather than joining the BJP. I believe that they will soon regret joining the BJP. Bisht claimed that about 700 AAP members left the party along with him.
Earlier, Ajay Kothiyal had claimed last year that 300 people left the party along with him but it does not matter. There are plenty of AAP members who are working for the party,” Anand said. On the question of whether this will adversely affect the party in upcoming Lok Sabha elections, he said, “AAP is a part of Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance (INDIA) and the candidate will be selected accordingly for Lok Sabha elections. I do not think some leaders leaving the party will have any major impact on AAP or the elections.”
