{"id":352873,"date":"2025-03-12T00:13:05","date_gmt":"2025-03-12T05:43:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/?p=352873"},"modified":"2025-03-12T00:51:08","modified_gmt":"2025-03-12T06:21:08","slug":"is-there-friction-in-aap-after-the-delhi-defeat","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/is-there-friction-in-aap-after-the-delhi-defeat\/","title":{"rendered":"Is There Friction in AAP After the Delhi Defeat?\u00a0"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Photo: Naveen Bansal<\/em><\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

With the Aam Aadmi Party\u2019s crushing defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections \u2014where it secured only 22 out of 70 seats compared to its previous landslide victories\u2014has sparked intense speculation about internal dynamics in the political unit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

With AAP\u2019s stronghold in Delhi lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after a decade of dominance, attention has shifted to Punjab, the only state where AAP remains in power. At the heart of this scrutiny is the relationship between AAP\u2019s national convener, Arvind Kejriwal, and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sources stated that Mann is seemingly unhappy with the continued interference in the state government work by AAP’s national leadership. Almost the entire top leadership, including Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia, has been camping in Punjab for extended periods of time ever since the Delhi loss, sources pointed out. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This continued presence is leading to increased friction within the party, sources said. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It is understood that with Delhi no longer under AAP\u2019s control, Punjab has become the party\u2019s sole bastion, amplifying the stakes for both Kejriwal and Mann.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Moreover, Punjab is now seen as the testing ground for its survival ahead of the 2027 state elections.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Post-Delhi loss, Kejriwal convened a meeting with Mann, Punjab ministers, and AAP MLAs on February 11, in the national capital. Officially, the meeting was framed as a strategy session to analyze the Delhi results and chart the way forward for Punjab. AAP termed it a \u201croutine\u201d exercise, emphasizing that feedback from party units is a continuous process. However, the timing and context have fueled speculation about underlying tensions. It has been suggested that Kejriwal may be seeking to tighten his grip on Punjab\u2019s governance, potentially at the expense of Mann\u2019s autonomy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Critics have often accused the Punjab government of being \u201cremote-controlled\u201d from Delhi, a charge that gained traction when Kejriwal\u2019s former aide, Vibhav Kumar, was appointed as Mann\u2019s Chief Advisor in October 2024. The Delhi defeat has intensified this narrative, with some arguing that Kejriwal may now exert even greater control over Punjab to compensate for his loss of direct political power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reports suggest that during the February 11 meeting, Kejriwal instructed Punjab MLAs to bypass bureaucrats and approach him directly if their demands were unmet\u2014a move that could undermine Mann\u2019s authority as Chief Minister. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Though talk of friction between Kejriwal and Mann has been denied by AAP, the potential for tension exists. The Delhi defeat has undeniably shifted AAP\u2019s internal dynamics, placing Mann in a pivotal role while Kejriwal seeks to reclaim relevance.  Punjab is now AAP\u2019s lifeline, and the Kejriwal-Mann partnership\u2014or power struggle\u2014will shape its fate. For now, the party must regroup, rethink, and redefine its approach, lest the Delhi rout foreshadow a broader decline.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

With the Aam Aadmi Party\u2019s crushing defeat in the Delhi Assembly elections \u2014where it secured only 22 out of 70 seats compared to its previous landslide victories\u2014has sparked intense speculation about internal dynamics in the political unit.  With AAP\u2019s stronghold in Delhi lost to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) after a decade of dominance, attention […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":171,"featured_media":352874,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1801],"tags":[16178,19262,19344,18700],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352873"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/users\/171"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=352873"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352873\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":352879,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/posts\/352873\/revisions\/352879"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media\/352874"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=352873"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=352873"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/tehelka.com\/rest-api\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=352873"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}