All well in AAP? Punjab CM meets Kejriwal, says party needs to 'speed up'

New Delhi: In the midst of claims that around 30 of its lawmakers are planning to switch sides following the Delhi debacle, AAP on Tuesday sought to project a united face in Punjab with party chief Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday holding a meeting with MLAs and ministers from the state in the presence of Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann here.

Mann claimed all party MLAs were present at the meeting where Kejriwal thanked them for their spirited work in Delhi during the elections. However, Punjab Congress leaders were not impressed by Mann's assertions that there was no trouble in the party and his lawmakers are a “dedicated lot with no greed”.

After the meeting held at the Kapurthala House here amid rumours of dissent in the AAP Punjab unit, Mann said they need to “speed up” work in Punjab though winning and losing is part of elections and one should not forget that Delhiites still remember them for the work they did in the national capital.

“Kejriwal thanked Punjab leaders for their efforts in Delhi. We will make Punjab a model state and show it to the entire country...We have replicated the Delhi Model in Punjab. We discussed how we can take our model to the grassroots,” he said.

Asked about Punjab Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa's claim that 30 AAP MLAs are in touch with Congress, Mann said, “Bajwa has been saying this. He should not count our MLAs and instead count how many MLAs Congress has in Delhi.”

“He (Bajwa) has been making claims earlier also that 20 MLAs or 40 MLAs are in touch with him. Let them say it. We have formed this party with our sweat and blood going among people in the villages and towns in the state,” he said.

He said AAP has been fighting elections since 2014 Lok Sabha elections winning four seats, becoming main opposition in 2017 and ruling party five years later and that all of them were grassroot workers. He also dismissed remarks that he himself would leave the party.

Senior Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa claimed that Kejriwal calling a meeting quickly shows that AAP would break soon in Punjab and there would be mid-term polls in Punjab. NDA ally and Union Minister Ramdas Athawale said the Delhi defeat was a "huge shock" for Kejriwal and his party's condition in Punjab was not good.

While AAP Punjab president Aman Arora said they discussed how they can take their model to the grassroots, AAP MP Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer said everything is fine in the party and they have such "routine" meetings regularly.

"I can give you in writing that the day Congress will make it clear that Bajwa will not be the Chief Ministerial candidate, that day itself he is going to join BJP just like his brother," he alleged.

Punjab Minister Harpal Singh Cheema said there was a discussion on how to speed up the work in Punjab in the next two years.