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Published: 22:35 GMT, 9 March 2015 | Updated: 22:35 GMT, 9 March 2015
The rift in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has only just come out in the open - but the differences were brewing for months.
In January, Shalini Gupta, sister of senior leader Prashant Bhushan, sent out e-mails to members of the AAP Global group, which has around 800 NRI supporters of the party, apparently trying to discourage them from donating money or investing time in the party, sources said.
Mail Today is in possession of the e-mail exchanges.
In a veiled way, Shalini dissuaded the NRI volunteers and members from supporting the party financially and personally.
Yogendra Yadav (centre) and Prashant
Bhushan (right) were removed from the AAP's Political Affairs Committee,
signally a rift within the party. In a leaked email, Bhushan's sister
Shalini Gupta appears to have dissuaded NRI volunteers and members from
supporting the party
“Since
all of you are important stakeholders in the party, donating your time
and money, some straight talk is warranted,” she said in an e-mail sent
on January 6.
The e-mails, sent out on January 5 and 6, make a reference to two camps in the party while raising the issue of the AAP fielding candidates with questionable credentials.
In her January 5 e-mail, she writes: “…My suggestion is we need to be very careful of the constituency we adopt. There are many candidates in the list this time who would not meet the party clean politics standard.”
In an e-mail dated January 5 she praises Bhushan for seeking a Lokpal inquiry against 12 party candidates.
After the party’s internal Lokpal conducted an inquiry, names of two AAP candidates were cancelled.
But Shalini’s emails were sent before the Lokpal inquiry was completed. Despite repeated attempts to reach Shalini in the United States, she did not respond to the queries.
Party sources said the top leadership was aware of Shalini’s emails, but took a conscious decision to stay silent.
“We were aware. But we tried our best to not escalate these issues as our focus was on the elections. There have been many other activities which were against the party, like Shantiji’s letter to Arvind Kejriwal and Prashantji saying that he wanted the party to lose elections,” a source in AAP told Mail Today.
Party leaders said while there was no visible impact on the amount of foreign donations received, Shalini’s e-mails were somewhat damaging.
“There was no visible impact on our foreign donations as it remained almost 30 per cent of the total funds received which was almost same as 2013 Assembly elections,” a source said.
NRI volunteers and members said the e-mails did not really discourage them from supporting the party.
“I saw the e-mail but did not give it much thought. It did not deter me. But we, the NRI supporters, want the leadership to stick together,” said Deepak Lingwal, from Singapore.
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Leaked emails from Bhushan's sister reveal AAP split before Delhi polls
By Heena KausarPublished: 22:35 GMT, 9 March 2015 | Updated: 22:35 GMT, 9 March 2015
The rift in the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has only just come out in the open - but the differences were brewing for months.
In January, Shalini Gupta, sister of senior leader Prashant Bhushan, sent out e-mails to members of the AAP Global group, which has around 800 NRI supporters of the party, apparently trying to discourage them from donating money or investing time in the party, sources said.
Mail Today is in possession of the e-mail exchanges.
In a veiled way, Shalini dissuaded the NRI volunteers and members from supporting the party financially and personally.
+3
The e-mails, sent out on January 5 and 6, make a reference to two camps in the party while raising the issue of the AAP fielding candidates with questionable credentials.
In her January 5 e-mail, she writes: “…My suggestion is we need to be very careful of the constituency we adopt. There are many candidates in the list this time who would not meet the party clean politics standard.”
In an e-mail dated January 5 she praises Bhushan for seeking a Lokpal inquiry against 12 party candidates.
After the party’s internal Lokpal conducted an inquiry, names of two AAP candidates were cancelled.
But Shalini’s emails were sent before the Lokpal inquiry was completed. Despite repeated attempts to reach Shalini in the United States, she did not respond to the queries.
Party sources said the top leadership was aware of Shalini’s emails, but took a conscious decision to stay silent.
“We were aware. But we tried our best to not escalate these issues as our focus was on the elections. There have been many other activities which were against the party, like Shantiji’s letter to Arvind Kejriwal and Prashantji saying that he wanted the party to lose elections,” a source in AAP told Mail Today.
Party leaders said while there was no visible impact on the amount of foreign donations received, Shalini’s e-mails were somewhat damaging.
“There was no visible impact on our foreign donations as it remained almost 30 per cent of the total funds received which was almost same as 2013 Assembly elections,” a source said.
NRI volunteers and members said the e-mails did not really discourage them from supporting the party.
“I saw the e-mail but did not give it much thought. It did not deter me. But we, the NRI supporters, want the leadership to stick together,” said Deepak Lingwal, from Singapore.
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AAP leader Mayank claims 'Delhi decision makers' are attacking him
By Heena KausarPublished: 23:13 GMT, 7 March 2015 | Updated: 23:13 GMT, 7 March 2015
After questioning the ouster of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan from Political Affairs Committee, senior leader Mayank Gandhi has now claimed that a small group of “decision makers in Delhi” are attacking him.
On the other hand, another leader Anjali Damania has accused Bhushan of wanting the party to lose the recent Delhi Assembly polls.
Alleging that a “concerted attempt” was being made on social media to call him anti-party and anti-Kejriwal, Gandhi said he might be humiliated so much in the party that it could lead him to quit AAP.
+2
Senior leader Mayank Gandhi has now claimed that a small group of “decision makers in Delhi” are attacking him. Another leader Anjali Damania has accused Prashant Bhushan of wanting the party to lose the recent Delhi Assembly polls
“On January 27, I met Prashant ji (Bhushan) at his office. I was stunned when he said that he wanted the party to lose in Delhi Assembly elections. I was so upset that I picked up my bag and walked out of his office,” Damania said.
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“A price may have to be paid. A small group of party decision makers in Delhi have already removed me from the informal BBM group. Attacks have begun against me from Ashish Khetan and others,” he wrote in his blog.
Khetan in a Tweet had said: “Some people give television interviews all through the day, while some work for the progress of Delhi and country. Some people write blogs, while some people write history.”
