No more free hand to AAP state unit

Chandigarh, December 20

The autonomy enjoyed by the state unit of the Aam Aadmi Party seems to have been checked by the national leadership of the party today with the appointment of Manish Sisodia as incharge of Punjab political affairs.
The AAP had not put anyone on the post after Sanjay Singh resigned when the party failed to win a majority in the Assembly elections.
Though the state unit has welcomed the appointment, party sources and observers said the national leadership had given a free hand to the state unit for over eight months. The party has not been able to achieve anything remarkable in the two elections held during this period.
The party lost the Gurdaspur Lok Sabha bypoll and the local bodies elections badly.
The state unit has been insisting on autonomy from the national leadership or the Delhi lobby as it is referred to in party circles. The state unit has recently been putting up a united front and party leaders and MLAs had been supporting Leader of Opposition Sukhpal Khaira over the drug links allegations against him.
Khaira has emerged stronger in the state after he was chosen Leader of Opposition in place of HS Phoolka. Khaira has another claim to strength when the party won its lone seat in the local bodies elections from Bholath.
Incidentally, Sisodia had courted controversy during campaigning for the state elections when he announced that party head Arvind Kejirwal might be the chief ministerial candidate. The party leadership had a tough time denying his statement.