AAP battles perception crisis after defection of 7 Rajya Sabha MPs to BJP

New Delhi: The defection of seven of its Rajya Sabha MPs to BJP comes at the most inopportune time for the AAP, as it is headed for Assembly polls in Punjab where it is in a do-or-die battle to save power while trying to grow elsewhere in the country.

The biggest and the immediate challenge before its chief Arvind Kejriwal is to battle the perception that AAP is tottering, when the chatter is growing about disaffection is growing among a section of its MLAs especially in Delhi and in Punjab.

Several key leaders had quit AAP in the past but the latest crisis in AAP is different, as it has for the first impacted its legislature party, indicating that losing power in Delhi, which is seen as Kejriwal’s defeat, has had an impact on the party’s functioning.

No one in AAP would concede but Friday’s developments, with a disgruntled Raghav Chadha leading a pack of MPs to BJP, has rattled the party, as it has the potential of having a spiralling effect on Delhi and Punjab MLAs even if defectors have no mass base.

Chadha, once a blue-eyed-boy of Kejriwal, may have lost a million followers on Instagram in a day after his switch to the BJP but he has emerged as a go-to-person for disgruntled leaders who are looking for a switch.

In such a scenario, the immediate scramble for Kejriwal and Co. will be to ensure that AAP MLAs remain in the stable. Already, there is speculation that around half-a-dozen of 22 MLAs in Delhi are in touch with BJP while a number of AAP councillors had crossed over to the saffron camp some time ago.

For the AAP, the crisis is bigger as it was not able to capitalise on the court discharge of Kejriwal and others in the excise policy case, uncharacteristic of a party which had grabbed even a half a chance. Losing power in Delhi had an impact, as it could not even manage the fallout of Chadha’s rebellion after his removal as Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha.

It is also to be seen how AAP will navigate the next seven months in Punjab where Kejriwal and his Man Friday Manish Sisodia had been spending more time in the past months. Soon after the Delhi debacle, Kejriwal had to call Punjab MLAs to Delhi to quell disquiet and manage the flock.

The BJP, which is struggling to find a foothold in Punjab, hopes its latest political manoeuvres will bring dividends in the poll-bound state and may intensify its efforts to trouble AAP.

The defections also exposed Kejriwal’s choices and his inability to manage egos of his close aides. Three of the seven defectors were businessmen while one is a sportsperson, all of them with little political exposure. The other three fell out in the past couple of years over questions of prominence and access.

AAP’s troubles were aptly described by Congress’ Jairam Ramesh and CPI(M) General Secretary MA Baby. “BJP washing machine is back along with the Modi washing powder. Those who projected themselves as paragons of virtue, integrity, and ideology stand brutally exposed,” Ramesh said while Baby added, “a reminder – without ideological commitment, politics is fragile and a marketplace of power.”