Moves, counter-moves in AAP bid for truce between warring factions

Sources said that both the sides were “in agreement in principle” on most of the issues, but the only hitch is how to operationalise the issues.

Discussions on future of Yadav in the party and what responsibility will he be given to him is also being worked out.

The Arvind Kejriwal camp represented by Delhi unit secretary Ashutosh and Delhi Dialogue Commission chairman Ashish Khetan met Yadav along with Ajit Jha in the morning to discuss the nitty-gritties of how to take the discussion forward.

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Meanwhile, there was another meeting between Yadav and another dissident leader Prashant Bhushan on Thursday. The meeting went on for around two hours at Bhushan’s office in the Supreme Court. However, both the leaders refused to speak on the issue.

Sources, however, said there was still a level of “mistrust” between the two groups and meetings were at least helping bridge the gap. Incidentally, Bhushan has refused to meet anyone, but Kejriwal. He is being represented by AAP leaders and National Executive members Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha.

There are many issues on which the both the camps are not on the same page despite being in agreement. The two camps are also stuck over “theory” and “practicality”.

While the Yadav and Bhushan camp insists on addressing certain issues like appointing of Lokayukta, giving more thrust on the volunteers, the Kejriwal camp is expressing quick progress on many issues.

The discussion concentrated on clarity of  the decisions taken by the PAC earlier this week, which included expanding and contesting in other states and preparing an active list of volunteers.

While a decision was taken to prepare an active list of party volunteers, Yadav’s camp insisted that the list should be out in a month while the Kejriwal camp said it would take at least three months to do so.

“We have an experience of 2013 Assembly, 2014 Lok Sabha and 2015 Assembly election. So, we conveyed that we cannot have knee-jerk reactions. The process of resolving issues will take some time,” said a party source.

Another contentious issue is identification of states where the party wants to expand in coming years and looking for faces who can represent AAP in those states. Another discussion that came up was appointing a Lokayukta at the state and district level to resolve issues, as per the party constitution.

Currently, the party has only one Lokpal and no Lokayukta at the state or district level.

Meanwhile, Lokpal for states on table

The series of talks between the two factions in the AAP continued on Thursday with representatives from both sides meeting senior leader Yogendra Yadav for the second time in two days. Later in the afternoon, Yadav also met Prashant Bhushan at his chamber in the Supreme Court — a meeting that lasted close to two hours.

Senior leaders said both sides “agreed on several issues” but were working on “details.” On Thursday morning, leaders Ashutosh and Ashish Khetan, both close to Kejriwal, met Yogendra Yadav and Ajit Jha.

“There are many things that are being discussed including issues of how volunteers will be involved in decision-making. Essentially, the talks are clarifying what was announced at the Political Affairs Committe meeting on Tuesday night. There were also discussions on what role will suit Yadav,” a senior leader said.

Discussions also included the status of Lokpals for the party in the states, with the party only having one national Lokpal in Admiral Ramdas.

Incidentally, the party moved quickly in an attempt to quash reports that the Kejriwal camp was unhappy about the Admiral’s role in the conflict, questioning the letter he wrote to the National Executive on February 26 which has largely been read as being supportive of Bhushan and Yadav.

While holding him “in high esteem”, a statement released by the party does not deny that he will be replaced.

“The party holds Admiral Ramdas in high esteem and appreciates his role as an impartial Lokpal, who never interfered in the party’s decision-making process. Nor did he ever make any attempt to take sides on any issue. The party outrightly rejects all frustrated attempts to drag the name of Admiral Ramdas into a controversy. The party considers it a privilege to have been able to convince Admiral Ramdas to take over the role of its ombudsman and will be always thankful to him for having agreed to render his services. Admiral Ramdas will continue to be an important guide for the party,” the statement read.