4 days Ago
Tensions within the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) had reportedly intensified in the lead upto former Delhi Minister Kailash Gahlot's decision to resign from the party and switch over to the BJP. Reportedly, there were a series of incidents that have caused rifts between senior party leaders, particularly Kailash Gahlot and other top AAP functionaries. The growing mistrust, sources claim, stemmed from Gahlot's increasing proximity to Delhi's Lieutenant Governor (LG) VK Saxena and his perceived shift away from the party’s central leadership.
The first signs of strain emerged in August, when, during preparations for India's 78th Independence Day celebrations, a dispute arose over who would hoist the national flag. While Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal , who was incarcerated at the time, had recommended Minister Atishi for the honor, the Lieutenant Governor chose Gahlot for the task. Office Productivity Advanced Excel Course - Financial Calculations & Excel Made Easy By - Anirudh Saraf, Founder- Saraf A & Associates, Chartered Accountant View Program Finance Crypto & NFT Mastery: From Basics to Advanced By - CA Raj K Agrawal, Chartered Accountant View Program Web Development Advanced Java Mastery: Object-Oriented Programming Techniques By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Web Development Django & PostgreSQL Mastery: Build Professional Web Applications By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Office Productivity Mastering Microsoft Office: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and 365 By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Data Science SQL Server Bootcamp 2024: Transform from Beginner to Pro By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Data Science MySQL for Beginners: Learn Data Science and Analytics Skills By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Marketing Digital Marketing Masterclass by Pam Moore By - Pam Moore, Digital Transformation and Social Media Expert View Program Marketing Performance Marketing for eCommerce Brands By - Zafer Mukeri, Founder- Inara Marketers View Program Marketing Digital marketing - Wordpress Website Development By - Shraddha Somani, Digital Marketing Trainer, Consultant, Strategiest and Subject Matter expert View Program Web Development Intermediate Java Mastery: Method, Collections, and Beyond By - Metla Sudha Sekhar, IT Specialist and Developer View Program Leadership Validating Your Startup Idea: Steps to Ensure Market Fit By - Dr.
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This sense of unease grew when, unlike other AAP leaders who were embroiled in verbal confrontations with the Raj Niwas, Gahlot maintained a cordial working relationship with Saxena, regularly participating in events like laying foundation stones, inaugurating buses, and attending Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) functions. These public interactions reportedly caused discomfort among some senior party officials, who felt Gahlot was aligning too closely with the Lieutenant Governor. In the aftermath of Kejriwal’s release from jail, tensions further escalated.
When Kejriwal publicly accused Tihar Jail authorities of humiliating him by refusing to forward his letter nominating Atishi to hoist the Tricolour, Gahlot, who was sitting on stage beside him, found himself at the center of a brewing internal conflict. According to sources, this incident highlighted the widening rift between Gahlot and the party leadership. Further contributing to the tension were changes within the Delhi cabinet.
After Kejriwal's imprisonment and the subsequent resignations of Manish Sisodia and Satyendar Jain in early 2023, Gahlot assumed a more prominent role, managing multiple key portfolios, including finance. However, the June cabinet reshuffle saw Atishi taking over the revenue, planning, and finance departments—responsibilities previously handled by Gahlot. The removal of the law portfolio from his charge added to his discontent, sources indicate.
Despite these setbacks, Gahlot attempted to project loyalty to the party. During a cabinet reshuffle in June, he referred to himself as "Hanuman of Arvind Kejriwal" and publicly supported the Chief Minister. However, the political landscape continued to shift, and when Gahlot resigned recently, Atishi was entrusted with his former departments.
Sources close to the situation say Gahlot's departure from the AAP government is partly due to pressure from ongoing investigations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI), allegedly instigated by the BJP. There have also been speculations, both from AAP and BJP insiders, that Gahlot could be considering a shift to the BJP, given his cordial ties with Saxena. Electoral data also points to Gahlot's narrow victories in the last two Delhi elections, winning his constituency by margins of just 1,555 votes in 2015 and 6,231 votes in 2020, which further fuels the speculation about his future political moves.
While Gahlot maintained a low profile in the face of these developments, he continued his work with AAP till his resignation, including leading the opening ceremony of a women-operated bus depot just a day before his departure. As the situation unfolds, it remains to be seen how Gahlot's exit will impact the AAP leadership dynamics and whether the tensions between him and the party will have broader consequences in the run-up to future elections. (With inputs from ToI) (You can now subscribe to our Economic Times WhatsApp channel ).
