Arvind Kejriwal back in Delhi; Prashant Bhushan calls for meet - Livemint

A file photo of AAP leaders Arvind Kejriwal (right), Prashant Bhushan (2nd from left), Manish Sisodia (3rd from left) and Yogendra Yadav. Photo: Sushil Kumar/Hindustan Times

New Delhi: Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal , who returned to the city after receiving medical treatment in Bengaluru, has his work cut out to resolve the biggest internal crisis his Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) faced in his absence.

In the last two weeks, letters have been made public that alleged a lack in transparency in the manner in which the AAP is being run. The crisis reached its peak when the national executive of the party on 4 March decided to remove senior leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan from its political affairs committee (PAC).

“I want to meet Arvind (Kejriwal) and end the controversy. Hope that a face-to-face meeting will help in resolving many of these issues,” Bhushan told reporters on Monday, signalling his intention to put an end to the crisis. “If he (Kejriwal) wants, I can meet him with Yogendra (Yadav) to sort the problems out to whatever extent.”

Kejriwal left Delhi on 5 March and was admitted at a naturopathy centre in Bengaluru for 10 days to treat rising blood sugar levels and a chronic cough.

Senior leader Anand Kumar called Bhushan’s move a silver lining. “We can make up for the rupture caused by NE (national executive) vote of 4 March regarding PAC which was avoidable as there was another resolution asking for voluntary withdrawal by all to make way for reconstitution of PAC,” Kumar said on Twitter. “A healthy and happy Arvind Kejriwal. It is time to show statesmanship and disappoint all those who are waiting for further drift and debate.”

“There are institutional or aspects that they need to think of. They need to re-think the organizational structure to re-instill confidence and boost volunteer morale,” said P.K. Dutta, a New Delhi-based political analyst. “These events have had an impact on volunteer morale. It’s important to address this as AAP as a party relies on its volunteers.”