Chandigarh MC poll 2 months away, AAP’s ‘Super 30’ lies defunct

Sandeep Rana

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, October 8

With just two months left for the MC elections, ‘AAP Super 30’, which was formed a year ago, continues to lie defunct.

While the dejected Congress leaders are making a beeline to join the Chandigarh unit of the Aam Aadmi Party, its own people seem to have literally abandoned the party.

Members of the ‘Super 30’, who come from different walks of life, said in the past five months, not even a single meeting of the pioneer group was held. The advisory board was to function under the name of this forum.

At the time of the formation of the group, AAP convener Prem Garg had declared that the group would meet before every General House meeting of the Municipal Corporation.

In the meetings, actual agenda of the House meeting was to be deliberated upon and expert views were to be forwarded to the councillors and MC officials. But nothing of this sort happened.

“For the past five months, not even a single ‘AAP Super 30’ meeting was held. It is primarily a think tank, but ideas are not being taken and implemented. AAP’s focus now seems to be only on inducting the leftovers from the Congress,” said Amit Sharma, management consultant and one of the ‘Super 30’ members.

“The people, who have been aligned with the AAP for a long time feel there is an identity crisis. Who are we? Who are the original workers? What we want? All top leaders are from other parties. AAP’s own leaders are being sidelined,” he said.

Another ‘Super 30’ member Pallav Mukherjee said: “When the AAP won in Delhi, everybody thought they will win everywhere. Now you are taking in people rejected from other parties, there is no idea what is to be done ahead. Nothing has ever happened on ‘Super 30’. Everybody is disgruntled.”

Yet another member and horticulturist Rahul Mahajan said: “Super 30 did not work. Its members were not from the AAP, but a group of people from different walks of life, who wanted to give ideas and highlight issues in public. We need to revive the group.”

Garg said the group would work effectively and old and new guard in the party would have a balance in the future.

Meanwhile, many in the party believe that the AAP has lost its identity and it has been hijacked by the leaders from other parties, predominately the Congress.

A few like Raman Mann, however, believe that those who are coming to the AAP from other parties are talented but were not respected there. “They have joined the AAP and will be an asset to the party,” said Mann.