It was the politics of Arvind Kejriwal that had won three consecutive elections to AAP in Delhi Assembly and one election in Punjab defeating the BJP and the Congress respectively. Still, some of the leaders felt betrayed as the cause for which they joined the movement appears to have been compromised. This had led to many of them parting ways with the AAP. There is a very long list of such leaders who distanced themselves from the party that is the product of ‘India Against Corruption’ movement led by Anna Hazare and Kejriwal being a part of it but most of its prominent leaders were jailed for corruption charges making a huge dent in its reputation. Kejriwal launched a political campaign against the wishes of Hazare and some other leaders.
This has brought initial discontent among some of its leaders. Amid such discontent, some of the AAP leaders took refuge in other political parties while some others are still managing independently as they are unable to join political parties for their past affiliations while some did not want to join any. But the way Kejriwal was managing affairs of AAP, it was bound to happen what is happening in the party.
Leaders like Kumar Vishwas, Kiren Bedi, Sazia Ilmi, Shushil Kumar Rinku and Ashwini Upadhyay have either joined the BJP or supported their cause and ideology. Now, seven Rajya Sabha MPs -- Raghav Chadha, Sandeep Pathak, Ashok Mittal, Swati Maliwal, Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, and Vikramjit Singh Sahney – have announced merging with the BJP. Vice President and Chairman Rajya Sabha C P Radhakrishnan has approved the merger of seven Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MPs with the BJP, taking the strength of the National Democratic Alliance (NDA) to 148, including seven nominated MPs. Following the merger, Raghav Chadha, Ashok Kumar Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Dr Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Swati Maliwal and Rajinder Gupta, who quit AAP last week, are now listed among the 113 Rajya Sabha MPs of the BJP.
Leaders like former journalist Ashutosh, Supreme Court lawyer known for his Left leaning Prashant Bhushan and psephologist turned politician Yogendra Yadav take anti-BJP stand for anything and everything. Former Supreme Court judge and Karnataka Lokayukta Santosh Hegde distanced himself from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) shortly after its formation, expressing disappointment with its direction and later stating he could not be part of a political party. Hegde, a member of the India Against Corruption movement, felt the party moved away from its core ethics and the movement's ideals.
There are many who have gone into oblivion like Admiral Ramdas, Anand Kumar, Rajmohan Gandhi, Ajit Jha, Medha Patkar, Mayank Gandhi, Anjali Damania, Dharmaveer Gandhi, S P Udaykumar, Soni Shori, Balli Singh Chima, Lingraj Pradhan and Christina Sami. Captain G R Gopinath resigned due to growing differences with the party leadership and its methods, specifically criticizing Arvind Kejriwal for "shoot and scoot" politics and refusing to pay a bail bond in a defamation case. Shanti Bhushan, a former BJP leader, Union law minister and father of Prashant Bhushan, is dead now.
The BJP was on the constant watch for the activities of AAP and did not allow it to spread its tentacles anywhere in the country except in Delhi and Punjab. However, Kejriwal humbled the BJP thrice in Delhi Assembly elections while in Punjab, the BJP was not strong enough to keep AAP in check after its alliance with Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) broke due to their opposite stands on Farm Laws which are withdrawn now. A patch up of BJP-SAD is possible anytime soon. The saffron outfit dealt with the AAP very consistently, patiently and strategically but opponents accuse the BJP of managing things in its favour by hook or by crook.
Delhi Liquor Scam ensured small or big jail stint to party leaders like Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Satendra Jain and Sanjay Singh and a few others associated with the party which gave a severe blow to the image of the party and its leaders that was launched to fight corruption. This has resulted in people voting them out from the seat of power of the Delhi government. Despite AAP ruling in Delhi and Punjab and both the states having 20 Lok Sabha seats, the party managed to win just three seats. The perception about the party was gradually declining or was made to look like that only resulting in a decisive loss for Kejriwal in Delhi including his own New Delhi Assembly seat. It was a redux of 2013 Delhi election in which Kejriwal defeated incumbent Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.
Couple of leaders who gave the BJP leadership sleepless nights included Arvind Kejriwal, but the BJP was consistently working on AAP by winning over its leaders and support base. Now the focus of the BJP is Punjab where Assembly elections are less than a year away. If it is able to fix its alliance in the state, Punjab elections will certainly be a very interesting battle to watch for.
