Why rumblings over ‘dummy CM Mann’ are growing louder within Punjab AAP?

“People from Delhi are calling the shots. Now, even we have started feeling that Chief Minster Bhagwant Mann is a dummy CM. If the situation prevails… the party will become history,” said Priti, who led a protest on Monday against “Delhi (AAP leadership)’s interference” in the affairs of the Punjab party unit.

The AAP leadership’s action against Priti came days after she launched a campaign, called “Yudh Delhi virudh (battle against the Delhi AAP leadership)”, after the Mann government appointed Reena Gupta, the Delhi-based AAP national spokesperson, as the Punjab Pollution Control Board chairperson last month, which is among several similar appointments done recently.

The AAP, however, seems to be unfazed with a state party leader saying “it was good that Priti Malhotra was removed from her post”. “When did you ever see her working?” he asked.

A day after Priti’s removal, the AAP’s Dibra block president Inderjit Singh Moudgill also quit in protest against the party’s policies. “We have worked hard for the AAP and spent around Rs 10 lakh from my pocket to strengthen the party. It is sad that the AAP is now appointing leaders from Delhi in various positions in the Punjab government. We will go to Khatkar Kalan, Shaheed Bhagat Singh’s native village, to atone our sins. We will seek forgiveness for failing to fulfil our promise of badlaav (change),” he said.

The AAP also came under fire from its former Punjab spokesperson Iqbal Singh, who accused party supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab party in-charge Manish Sisodia of allegedly “taking control” of at least 10 government bungalows. “I want to ask Sisodia, who calls himself a great education minister, if he set up even a single college in Delhi during his tenure. All they have been doing in Punjab is laying foundation stones of toilets… they have left us embarrassed,” he alleged.

The appointment of Deepak Chouhan, an Uttar Pradesh native and senior AAP leader Sandeep Pathak’s ex-personal assistant, as the Punjab Large Industrial Development Board chairperson and that of Delhi-based AAP leader Kamal Bansal as the Punjab Tirath Yatra Samithi chairperson have also upset the party workers.

The appointments of Chouhan and Reena Gupta have also drawn flak from the principal Opposition Congress, with its MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira calling it a “double blunder” and an “insult to the AAP volunteers of Punjab”. “This is nothing but the loot of Punjab’s resources by outsiders who have no respect or love for the state. Both appointments clearly show Kejriwal wants to control the industry of Punjab through his henchmen. I demand an explanation from Bhagwant Mann as to why he’s surrendering Punjab to outsiders. These blatantly wrong appointments should be scrapped immediately and eminent Punjabis should be appointed to these vital positions,” he said in a social media post last month.

Leader of the Opposition (LoP) in the Punjab Assembly, Partap Singh Bajwa sarcastically termed these appointments as CM Mann’s “masterstroke”. “Deepak Chouhan — ex-PA to AAP backroom boss Sandeep Pathak, hailing from UP — is now Chairman of Punjab’s Large Industrial Development Board. No industrial experience. Not Punjabi. Loyalty over merit. And yes, all perks funded by Punjabis’ hard-earned taxes. Meanwhile, Reena Gupta — another non-Punjabi & former Delhi SEIAA member — is now chairperson of Punjab Pollution Control Board. Nepotism? No no… it’s called Badlav,” he said in an X post on May 19.

Another row recently erupted following the arrest of Jalandhar AAP MLA Raman Arora in connection with a corruption case. Kunwar Vijay Partap Singh, the AAP MLA from Amritsar and once seen as the party’s “poster boy”, has questioned the move. “It is very surprising to hear about Arora ji’s arrest as he is seen as the CM’s family member and has often been seen hosting close members of the CM’s family. Similarly, Health Minister Vijay Singlaji was arrested before the 2022 Sangrur bypoll but the case did not go to the courts,” he said in a social media post.

Alleging that the AAP lacked a “mentoring system” to explain mistakes to its leaders, Vijay Partap Singh said, “This way, the credibility of the party and the government suffers while the Opposition directly benefits… Whatever the truth, we will continue to try and protect the credibility of the party as well as the government.”

AAP’s ‘damage control’

AAP spokesperson Neel Garg was not available for comments despite repeated attempts. However, a senior AAP leader, who requested anonymity, said national parties like the Congress and the BJP have always named their Punjab unit in-charges from other states too. “Do they call them parachutes? When AAP appoints such office-bearers, it becomes a controversy.”

Another senior AAP leader said all those being appointed were not “outsiders”. “We are better than former Chief Minister Captain Amarinder Singh, who brought a gangster like Mukhtar Ansari to Punjab. We have brought able people, who will help the state with their expertise. Gupta is an expert on environment while Chouhan has been actively involved in Punjab politics for many years,” the leader added.

The brewing dissent has also forced the AAP’s social media wing to mount a damage control exercise.
On Monday, AAP social media volunteers from the Malwa East zone gathered in Patiala to discuss the issue. According to party sources, a comprehensive strategy was formulated to “counter the Opposition’s false narrative while spreading the party’s ideology among people through social media”. “Training on modern tools and social media platforms was provided to the volunteers during the meeting. The Punjab leadership has issued clear instructions to propagate the state government’s welfare initiatives on social media and counter the Opposition only with facts,” a source said.