36. Phoolka s outburst is a
warning signal for AAP
Jagtar Singh | April 30,
2016 |
Chandigarh, April 30: H S
Phoolka has created tremors with his video
‘appealing’ to the ticket seekers
not to count on him and approach state
party convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur instead
thereby making his disgust with the present
state of affairs in the Aam Aadmi Party in
Punjab public. After the two party MPs Dr Dharam
Vira and Harinder Singh Khalsa
were suspended for
joining the dissidents who are now out of
the party, Phoolka’s outburst is being seen as a
major development that has the potential to rock
the party in the run up to the February 2017
elections now
only a few months away. The development
is a warning signal.
“Phoolka is our most
respected leader. He
had earlier himself announced that he
would prefer to focus on the cases against
Jagdish Tytler and others relating to November
1984 anti-Sikh violence. There no problem
at any level in his case”, asserted
party’s national organizational secretary
Durgesh Pathak.
It may be mentioned that
Phoolka has been a very well-known face in
Punjab because of his association with November
1984 cases and working to mobilise people at
every level. He has been cycling to different
places for this purpose to be one with the Aam
Aadmi.
AAP is faced with the
problem of too many ambitious but not so Aam
Aadmis
joining the party
in view of the perceived wave against
both the Akali Dal-BJP combine and the Congress,
in that order.
People like Phoolka might be feeling
sidelined. He is among those leaders who have
been with AAP in Punjab from day one.
AAP convener and Delhi
Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal might be
exaggerating when he claimed that the party was
likely to win more than 100 of the 117 seats in
the state. it may be recalled that the Akali
Dal-BJP combine had won 93 seats in 1997 when
the Congress was at its rock bottom despite
claiming to have restored
peace in the state after more than a
decade of turbulence that claimed about 50,000
lives.
AAP might have
shortlisted candidates for each seat but
there is problem of too many, more than plenty.
The situation would become clear only
after the party announces
its candidates. It is proposed to
complete this exercise within the next two or
three months. It would be
better as the fall out, if any due to
these over-ambitious people, can be taken care
of in the run up to the election.
Akali Dal chief Sukhbir
Singh Badal has taken advantage of such a
situation in the Congress in 2012 Assembly
election when he took good care of the Congress
dissidents. Rest of the damage was done by the
over-confident party leaders themselves.
The problem with Punjab is
that the situation can suddenly become
unpredictable as such is the nature of the
political discourse here where normal parameters
don’t apply. AAP would have to be cautious in
its approach despite the situation that
apparently seems to be highly favourable.
Sukhbir is not the type of
leaders who give up easily and he will fight
back as he has to. There is no need to conduct a
survey to know as to what has gone wrong. Talk
to any common person right from a village on the
border in Amritsar district to some remote
corner in Mansa district and one would get the
same perception of the situation. The system of
Halqa incharge introduced by the Akali Dal has
perhaps done more damage than any other issue
which otherwise are related to this system.
AAP leadership is presently
engaged in Punjab Dialogue which in essence is
an exercise to connect with the people as there
is nothing much that is not known. Parkash Singh
Badal can easily be described as the best dream
seller in the earlier elections. However,
although it is Badal who has been projected as
the leader once again, that might not matter
much.
He was never known as a good
administrator but people still trusted him. He
can now do little to bring about qualitative
change in the situation. It is Sukhbir who has
to confront AAP.
Phoolka’s outburst should
be taken as a warning signal by AAP leadership,
how strong might be the anti-incumbency that is
favouring this party at the moment.