With a look of heartbreak and sorrow, Prashant Bhushan, on Saturday, referred to Kejriwal's words from Thursday 'sting' – "in any other party they (Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav) would have been kicked out by now" – saying the Aam Aadmi Party truly has become like any other party, or may be worse. Speaking to the media two hours after being voted out of the party's national executive, Bhushan said though they were not literally kicked out, AAP has become very small today. Flanked by a sombre looking Yadav, professors Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha, who were also voted out of the NE, Bhushan minced no words in saying he failed to stop former comrade Arvind Kejriwal becoming a dictator.
While asking the public to not judge the party by today's "tragedy", Bhushan and Yadav laid out the options open to them – go to court, approach the Election Commission or call for another national council meeting for a proper vote this time, through secret ballot. Supporting them were party MLA Pankaj Pushkar and party MP from Patiala Punjab, Dharamvir Gandhi, who seemed bristling with rage over what had happened in Saturday's national council meeting.
Though Bhushan and Yadav declared they would stay within the party, a complete split could be imminent. Removal from the national executive place the four men under the ambit of the Delhi state unit, whose convenor is Ashutosh, a known Kejriwal loyalist. Complaints against them will no longer be referred to the national disciplinary committee, which till Saturday morning was chaired by Bhushan, nor will their cases be referred to the lokpal.
Is party's lokpal too booted out?
The party's lokpal Admiral Ramdas too was caught in the line of fire, when national secretary Pankaj Gupta messaged him in the morning asking him not to attend the national council meet as it was an internal party matter and his presence could cause a "confrontation". Ramdas wrote back expressing surprise how the presence of the party's own lokpal could cause confrontation. Gupta's message also said his status needed to be reviewed as he has long past his one-year term.
Can duo force another NC meeting?
It is learnt that Bhushan and Yadav are meeting NC members of other states, where they still have more support than in Delhi, to garner numbers. Many NC members, alarmed at AAP becoming "one-man centric", had met informally earlier to consolidate their stand. This could probably lead to option three, demand another NC and make sure that a secret ballot is conducted instead of a voice vote, as was apparently the case on Saturday. The duo already has one MP and one MLA with them, and could potentially gain more numbers. Calling the NC again might just score them political gain.
Does Kejriwal enjoy majority in NC?
Both sides read the numbers as it favours them. Kejriwal camp has posited it as a clear win of the majority. The dissenters are pointing out the lack of transparency, saying they don't know who those 167 are, whether their signatures are real, whether the count of 247 is correct or if it has been fudged by the people taking the count. While the former camp sees this as "out of 311 people", the latter see it as "167 out of 392 people", calling it "not even 50 per cent".
What if rebels move court or EC?
Bhushan and Yadav have a potential case for the court or the EC, as procedures were not followed according to party rules. Sisodia did not take the chair's (Gopal Rai's) permission while tabling the resolution, the call for a secret ballot was not heeded and the names of those who signed have not been given to Bhushan and Yadav.
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