AAP down, not out: Sandhu

Nitin Jain

Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, April 29

“The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) committed a historic blunder in the Punjab Assembly elections,” says Kanwar Sandhu, AAP MLA from Kharar.

According to him, failure to project the CM face and the “overconfidence” of a handful of party leaders from Delhi and Punjab were major factors responsible for the poll debacle. However, he feels the beleaguered party has a future — if it takes corrective steps.

Sandhu’s comments come on the heels of Sangrur MP Bhagwant Mann’s outburst against the party leadership. In a telephonic interview from Canada, the veteran journalist-turned-politician said AAP’s defeats in Punjab, Goa, the Delhi Assembly bypoll and the MCD elections called for deep introspection.

“There is much more to these losses than EVM tampering,” said Sandhu, asking the party’s heads to take responsibility and step down. “AAP’s Delhi convener Dilip K Pandey quit after the MCD poll debacle. His example is worth emulating,” the first-time legislator said.

“Various wings and committees should be reconstituted. In the states where we have lost the elections, there is a need to have new conveners or presidents with a five or seven-member Working Committee to advise him/them and decide on various matters. The state units should be given autonomy to formulate a state-specific strategy. The central committee (PAC) must have greater representation from the states,” he said.

Advocating more power or a free hand to the party’s state leadership to deal with state affairs, the AAP Punjab Dialogue and Manifesto Committee head said, “One-size-fits-all approach doesn’t work in all places.”

Sandhu added, “Introspection and review are a must. Perhaps not just a review but an overhaul in Delhi and elsewhere is the need of the hour. Arvind Kejriwal is a seasoned leader by now and he has learnt his lessons and I’m sure he would be doing this in the coming days.”