Yogendra Yadav hopeful of AAP national executive meet yielding 'good news'

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Yogendra Yadav on Wednesday said he was hopeful the party's national executive meet would result in some 'good news'.

"The AAP has been able to stand because of the hopes of people. People from all over the country are sending us messages to stand united and I am sure that they won't be disappointed. I am sure the outcome of the meeting would be positive and we will give you some 'good news' by evening," Yadav said in an exclusive interview with ANI. Furthermore, the AAP leader said that the issue within the party was not over who should be the party convener but over ways to bring about a better social balance.

"Everybody wants Arvind Kejriwal to be the representative of the party. We all had rejected his resignation. There is no question on who is to be included in the PAC or not. But I and Prashant Bhushan have been saying this from a long time that we need to bring new people into the party so that there is a better social balance. We have been saying that there is a need to include more women in the party," said Yadav. "How to make the views of the volunteers heard and bring more unity, how to strengthen internal democracy and what steps should be taken to make our party more efficient and better than other parties? These are some of the questions that need to be resolved," he added.

Yadav added that fellow party leader Dilip Pandey may have said bad things about him, but he was not a bad person. "Dilip Pandey has written some bitter things about me in his letter. But that does not make him a bad person. There are very few people in the country who are as honest as him," said Yadav.

He asserted that leaving a post did not mean that he would have to leave the party "If I have done anything wrong, I should be punished for that, if I have violated discipline, action should be taken. If I am not capable enough to be in PAC, I should be removed, but leaving a post doesn't mean I'll leave party. We have a huge mandate, this is a moment to work with large heartedness, we represent hope, those hopes will not be dashed," he said.

The AAP is embroiled in an ugly internal strife barely a month after forming a majority government in national capital New Delhi. There is unconfirmed speculation that the duo of party leaders Prashant Bhushan and Yadav may be eased out of the national executive, which is the AAP's top policy body. The decision, if carried out, would mean that Bhushan and Yadav would cease to be decision makers in a party that is sure to expand its wings in the country once it cements its foundation in Delhi.

And if Bhushan and Yadav take their ouster from the PAC as a slight, they could exit from the Aam Aadmi Party. There are reports of a majority of the national executive being in favour of the ouster of the duo, as they feel both have brought a bad name to the AAP by talking about the lack of so-called internal democracy in the party.

Meanwhile, the AAP has announced that National Convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal is unlikely to attend today's National Executive meeting, as he is flying to Bengaluru for naturopathy treatment for ten days to recover from diabetes and a consistent bout of cough. In Kejriwal's absence, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia will officiate as chief minister.