The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday dissolved its Maharashtra unit, evoking a sharp reaction from its National Executive member Mayank Gandhi, who said Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is “hell-bent on destroying” the organisation.
The decision, posted on AAP website, said the party’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC) has dissolved “all bodies in Maharashtra.”
Party sources said the move followed the state unit’s reluctance to act against Gandhi, the organisation’s best known face in Maharashtra, who had taken on Kejriwal through his blogs when the Delhi Chief Minister was locked in a bitter feud with now expelled AAP leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan. They said the leadership had still “not forgotten” it.
“There was pressure on the state unit to act against Mayank (Gandhi) and it was not in favour of it. The party leaders in Delhi have still not forgotten about the blogs, which Mayank had written. Plus, the Mumbai unit is marred by factionalism with one section having the support of the party leadership in Delhi, while there is another section supporting Mayank,” said a senior state party leader, requesting anonymity. The leader also termed the decision as “unfortunate”.
Gandhi alleged that Kejriwal was determined to finish the party, whose members have “got overpowered by gutter politics”. “AAP people had entered politics by forming a party to clean the gutter, but <g data-gr-id="27">unfortunately</g> on the contrary, members got overpowered by the gutter politics,” Gandhi said.
Gandhi, who contested the Lok Sabha polls from Northwest Mumbai constituency, took to twitter to express “sadness” over the development. “Beautifully functioning Maharashtra teams dissolved. Sad that politics has won!” he tweeted.