After finally expelling rebel leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan following a long internal conflict, the AAP on Tuesday said it would now focus its energies on the governance of Delhi and establishing it as a model for other States.
The party, however, remained non-committal about contesting elections in other States saying that would be a ‘dynamic call’ taken by the Political Affairs Committee. Though a senior spokesperson said the AAP is keen to expand beyond Delhi it is understood that the party would take its time in identifying areas where it can contest.
The party revealed, late on Monday, that it had expelled Mr. Yadav and Mr. Bhushan along with two other leaders – Professor Anand Kumar and Professor Ajit Jha – for anti-party activities.
On Tuesday the party also removed its parliamentary party leader MP Dharamvira Gandhi, who had spoken out against the expulsion of Mr. Yadav and Mr. Bhushan, and replaced him with Bhagwant Mann, a vocal supporter of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Speaking about his plans to The Hindu , Mr. Yadav said his focus would now be on Swaraj Abhiyan, an organisation that he and Mr. Bhushan had launched last week to fight for Swaraj at the grassroots. “We have already planned about 6-8 meetings over the next few weeks. We will also take out a nationwide yatra and we’ve planned some agitations as well,” he said.
Mr. Yadav said that though Swaraj Abhiyan would not contest elections it was still a political outfit that aimed to revive the movement which created AAP. “We can’t leave a political party and say we are not going to be political. I am sure many more people will come on board as this is just the start,” he said.
Mr. Bhushan went on a full offensive earlier in the day, saying that AAP had now become a Khap Panchayat with one leader. “We are disappointed with what the AAP has been reduced to,” Mr. Bhushan said in a press conference on Tuesday. “There is a dictator in AAP and everybody has to follow him,” he said.
Talking about their expulsion, Mr. Bhushan said that following the Delhi Assembly elections Mr. Kejriwal issued a diktat that he and Mr. Yadav should be removed from AAP.”
