In a major jolt to the Aam Aadmi Party, senior party leader Ashish Khetan has stepped down from active politics. Khetan recently tweeted that he will be completely focussing on his legal practice, and will not get involved anymore in active politics. However, Ashish Khetan has not shed any light on rumors about him resigning from AAP. His tweet ensued speculations that he is no longer part of the Arvind Kejriwal led-AAP. There has been a flood of messages on social media platforms following his tweet. Most of them pointed fingers towards Arvind Kejriwal and his dictatorial position in the party cadres. This is not the first blow to Kejriwal though who has received much flak after the oust of known faces such as Kumar Vishwas, Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan from the party too. Kejriwal was dubbed as an authoritarian who had assumed dictatorial stature in the party, meaning there was no democracy left in the party which had promised to revolutionise and bring democracy in its true form to each citizen of the country.
https://twitter.com/AashishKhetan/status/1032087514671181829
This might be another setback to Aam Aadmi Party as one of its senior leader, Ashutosh, has recently resigned from the party citing some ‘personal reasons’. He said, “Every journey has an end. My association with AAP which was beautiful/revolutionary has also an end.I have resigned from the PARTY/requested PAC to accept the same. It is purely from a very very personal reason.Thanks to party/all of them who supported me throughout.Thanks.”
However, Arvind Kejriwal rejected Ashutosh’s resignation saying that the party “loves him too much”. Kejriwal tweeted, “How can we accept your resignation? No, not in this lifetime.”
Ashish Khetan, a journalist turned-politician and trusted aide of Arvind Kejriwal, had supported and defended AAP vehemently on television debates. He was appointed as the vice-chairman of the Delhi Dialogue and Development Commission (DDC), an advisory body of the AAP government, three years ago, but he resigned from DDC in the month of April.
I had resigned from DDC in April, to join the legal profession. That is all. Not interested in rumours
— Prof. Ashish Khetan (@AashishKhetan) August 22, 2018
It looks like no one wants to be a part of a sinking ship. People are leaving Aam Aadmi Party because now they have understood that AAP does not have anything substantial to offer. Arvind Kejriwal’s behavior has made Aam Aadmi Party a political pariah. His verbal lapses and dictatorial attitude is disliked by all, including AAP members and as a result of this they are leaving the party and looking for better options ahead of 2019 general elections. AAP and Arvind Kejriwal’s popularity is declining not just in Delhi but also in Punjab where it has some presence. AAP’s Punjab state unit is in shambles, with the entire unit almost in rebellion mode. Arvind Kejriwal seems to be the biggest enemy of his own party. Animosity between Punjab AAP unit and the central unit is rising. Senior leaders of the party are leaving AAP and joining other parties. Hans Raj Rana from Adampur and H S Walia from Jalandhar Cantt left AAP and joined Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD). Senior leaders leaving AAP is another huge blow for a party which has been in decline ever since its big victory in Delhi. The entire state unit is marred with heavy infighting. AAP is on the verge of extinction in the state and it is no exaggeration to say that very soon AAP will recede into oblivion.