Polls on mind, AAP holds out olive branch to former leader Sucha Singh Chhotepur

Leader of opposition Harpal Cheema and state party co-chief Balbir Singh term the meet ‘a step forward.’
Chandigarh : Rocked by factionalism and constant bickering, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Punjab unit has started its reconciliation efforts with former leaders and rebels in Punjab by reaching out to former state convener Sucha Singh Chhotepur.
AAP leaders, including state co-president Balbir Singh, leader of opposition Harpal Singh Cheema and MLAs Gurmeet Singh Meet Hayer and Baljinder Kaur met Chhotepur, who was sacked from the party and now has his own political outfit (Aapna Punjab Party or APP), at his residence in Mohali on Sunday night to persuade him to return to the party fold.
These leaders, who went as emissaries of AAP national convener and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, were with Chhotepur for about 45 minutes and urged him to let bygones be bygones.
Chhotepur, who was sacked from the AAP in August 2016 following a purported “sting” in which he was allegedly shown as accepting money from a party supporter, gave them an earful about the shoddy treatment meted out to him by the party. He is not averse to talking to his supporters about their request for a ‘fresh start” and “rebuild the party” in the state.
Cheema and Balbir Singh also termed the meeting “a step forward”. The move is part of the AAP’s attempts to reach out to former leaders and rebels to come out of the trough in which the faction-ridden state unit has landed.
Group rivalries and constant infighting have not only created a situation where eight of the 20 party MLAs have revolted against Kejriwal and his team and holding ‘conventions’ in total defiance to demand ‘khudmukhtyari’ (autonomy) in running the party in the state. The party’s political fortunes also appear to be in sharp decline since the 2017 assembly polls that saw it emerge as the principal opposition party.
‘Can’t forget the way they treated me’
Confirming his meeting with the AAP leaders, Chhotepur said he could not forget the treatment meted out to him by the party leadership two years ago. “It was quite a bitter experience and hurt me a lot. When Cheema, Balbir and others came, I asked them what has changed in the party and the level of interference. I told them that their visit was the first by anyone from the party in the past two years,” he told HT.
He said they promised to get back to him after talking to Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia (Punjab affairs in-charge and Delhi deputy CM). “Let’s see what they say on issues raised by me. If their response is positive, I will talk to my supporters,” he said.
‘Meeting positive,talk to others too’
Cheema, whose appointment as the LOP had led to a revolt by Bholath MLA Sukhpal Khaira and seven other party MLAs, said the party would reach out to leaders who had fallen out due to one or the other reason and clear the misunderstanding.
“His response was positive. We will brief the leadership about the meeting. Once the (zila parishad and block samiti) elections get over, we will talk to others also,” he said. The state co-president said they would correct the mistakes committed in the past.
Though the party leaders said they would reach out to Khaira and those supporting him, they are still to get in touch with him. The list of “sacked” and “suspended” leaders is also a long one.
Chhotepur was the AAP candidate in Gurdaspur in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections and got 1.73 lakh (16.63%) votes.
Last year, his APP contested 78 seats, but could manage barely 37,475 (0.24%) votes with all his candidates losing their deposits. His party did not contest the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha byelection in 2017.