At the first all-candidate meeting of the Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab after assembly elections here on Monday, the state unit made it clear that it won’t accept interference any more by AAP Delhi.
Maintaining that the Delhi team calling the shots did not go down well with Punjab electorate, state AAP convener Gurpreet Ghuggi said the Delhi team was here just for the elections and from now on the Punjab unit shall be independently taking all decisions.
Terming the AAP’s Punjab unit an “independent” body, Ghuggi said, “The sentiment that Punjab did not accept the Delhi leadership has been unanimously expressed by candidates and party leaders. Somewhere, the feeling has emerged that the Punjab unit should take lead rather than the Delhi team calling the shots.”
Ghuggi said over-enthusiasm of the party, a seasoned Congress leadership and failure to project a CM face were among reasons for the party’s defeat.
“The Congress leadership emerged more seasoned than us. The lack of experience and Congress’ prowess to encash on our shortcomings also cost us dear,” he said at the end of a marathon meeting of party’s 117 candidates held in Jalandhar to analyse the poor performance of the party in the assembly elections. The meeting was held from Noon to 6 pm.
Asked whether the party would convey the deliberations planned in the meeting to the Delhi unit, Ghuggi said, “We don’t need to convey it to them. The Punjab unit is an independent body. However, we respect the PAC and shall be keeping the views in front of them.”
Responding to questions over the absence of party leaders Sanjay Singh and Durgesh Pathak from today’s meeting, Ghuggi said, “They were here only for the elections. The Punjab team shall be taking decisions regarding the corrective measures to be taken to fix the things. The Delhi team will not be interfering in the state’s decisions in the future.”
Senior leaders HS Phoolka, Sukhpal Khaira, Kanwar Sandhu, the party’s winning candidates from Dakha, Bholath and Kharar assembly segments, respectively, as well as MPs Bhagwant Mann and Sadhu Singh were prominent among those present at AAP Jalandhar Cantt candidate HS Walia’s farmhouse, the venue for the meeting
