Kejriwal to meet Punjab CM, MLAs post Delhi poll loss

New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS) Days after the BJP handed out a massive defeat to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Delhi, party national convenor Arvind Kejriwal is set to meet Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Maan, Ministers, and legislators for a meeting in the national capital on Tuesday.

The meeting comes in the wake of AAP's rout in the Delhi Assembly elections and growing speculation about internal dissent in the party's Punjab unit.

Meanwhile, as Bhagwant Mann left for a two-day visit to picturesque Chohal Forest Rest House on Sunday, the government cancelled its Cabinet meeting scheduled on Monday.

The meeting, which was to be held after five months as the AAP had been busy campaigning for various elections in the state and later in Delhi, would now be held on Thursday.

However, AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang downplayed the reports of dissent, and termed Tuesday's meeting a "routine strategy session".

"A party is a continuous process. Feedback from all units are taken to shape its future strategies. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann along with AAP MLAs will meet Arvind Kejriwal to discuss the way forward," he said.

According to party sources, the discussions will focus on analysing the Delhi election results and strategising for the Punjab polls scheduled in 2027.

AAP, which had been in power in Delhi for a decade, suffered a major setback in the February 5 polls, securing only 22 seats in the 70-member House.

The BJP with 48 seats ended AAP's rule in the capital, raising concerns about the party's electoral prospects elsewhere.

Sources said Kejriwal scheduled the meeting with Punjab leaders as the party circles are abuzz that some of its MLAs from the state may be in touch with other parties, indicating attempts to poach by the Bharatiya Janata Party.

This is not the first time that the ruling party in Punjab has levelled allegations about 'Operation Lotus' by the BJP in the state

However, AAP Punjab President Aman Arora said there was nothing to read in Tuesday's meeting.

"It is a general meeting. The party chief will be addressing all of us after the Delhi elections. Otherwise, we have no fear of anyone. We are united. Such meetings have been held in the past also. There is nothing new. Since Kejriwal has not addressed us for a long time now, we will be going to meet him," said Arora.

Sources in the AAP also stressed that Tuesday's meeting would be a "general meeting after the Delhi defeat".

"The AAP is now concentrating on Punjab after what the BJP did in Delhi to win the Assembly elections. We now want to keep the flock together. Party chief's pep talk always helps as defeat leaves leaders demotivated. We also want to make sure that the MLAs are not targeted by BJP now. They have been trying everything in the past. There have been raids of the Enforcement Directorate on some MLAs. The pressure has always been there. However, we have always been able to manage to keep our MLAs with us," said the source.

According to the sources, the senior leadership is being strongly urged that the AAP should return to its "Aam Aadmi" lifestyle as it had deviated from this in the past.

"Kejriwal's lavish makeover of his official residence has actually hit us. People wanted us to be a common man. They chose us for this reason. However, we deviated from our ideology. Now many leaders want us to return to the same old idea of politics for the common man. We will try to raise this in the meeting tomorrow," said a leader on anonymity.

There are also speculation that Kejriwal could consider a more direct role in Punjab politics now.

Punjab being the only state where the AAP is in power now, the outcome of Tuesday's meeting could be crucial for the party's future direction and stability.