Alka Lamba’s question to voters: Should I resign from AAP?

Standing on a stool outside the mosque with a microphone in hand, Lamba addressed around 50 people who had collected at the spot, and asked them if she should resign. The crowd responded with a ‘no’.

AAP MLA Alka Lamba at Jama Masjid, Wednesday

Hours after a Twitter spat with fellow AAP MLA Saurabh Bhardwaj, who dared her to join the Congress, Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba Wednesday held a referendum at Jama Masjid, asking voters if she should resign from the party.

Bhardwaj, who was also expected to turn up outside Jama Masjid, did not. Standing on a stool outside the mosque with a microphone in hand, Lamba addressed around 50 people who had collected at the spot, and asked them if she should resign. The crowd responded with a ‘no’.

“People don’t want me to resign and I want to stay in the Aam Aadmi Party. But I am a woman MLA and want to stay with respect, by ensuring internal democracy of the party. Don’t insult my people, those who have voted for me, by repeatedly asking for resignation,” Lamba told reporters later.

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Hitting out at people within AAP for fighting her instead of the BJP, and denying allegations that she was “soft” on the Congress, Lamba gave contradictory statements when asked who she would campaign for.

“I was campaigning for Pankaj Gupta (AAP candidate) for eight months, but when alliance talks gained ground and we heard the constituency could be bagged by the Congress, then the situation so happened that if we blame the Congress and it later turns out that we need to campaign for them, then it would become difficult for us and our activists. That’s why I stopped my campaign. Once they decide whether there is an alliance or not, I have campaigned for Pankaj Gupta and will continue to do so.”

However, when asked if she would campaign for the Congress if there was no alliance, Lamba said she would support whoever is “best placed to defeat the BJP”.

“We have some time right now, about a month before polls. Whoever is in the best position to defeat BJP then, I will support (them). I will also appeal to my voters that if they want change in the country, they should vote for whosoever is the strongest placed to do so,” she said.

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Lamba said it was sad that when she’s “fighting the BJP, some people are fighting me” and that she has been asked to resign for the “third time in four years”.

“Some people are asking me to resign from the party because I’m asking for inner party democracy. Jama Masjid and Chandni Chowk will decide whether I should resign,” she said.

“People ask me why are you soft on the Congress? They have no MLAs in Delhi, they are not in power at the Centre, so how can I question them? This is the time to question the BJP,” she added.

Bhardwaj, meanwhile, said he did not go for Lamba’s referendum as he was chairing an Assembly Committee meeting. “Even if I were free, I might not have gone. You need direct questions for a referendum. You can’t get away by asking questions in a roundabout manner. I hope after today’s result, she will show a positive change,” he added.

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Earlier, Bhardwaj had posted a resignation letter on Twitter, asking her to sign if people in her area ask her to resign.