Is Kejriwal controlling Punjab via Raghav Chadha?

From the very first day, the Bhagwant Mann government of Punjab has witnessed allegations of being remote-controlled by Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convener Arvind Kejriwal. In the political circle of the AAP it is well-known that after Manish Sisodia, newly appointed Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha is the closest confidante of Kejriwal. This is why the appointment of Chadha as the Punjab government's advisory panel chief will help the Delhi CM to be directly involved in the day-to-day activity of the Punjab government. Eventually, Chadha will work as the eyes and ears of Kejriwal inside the Bhagwant Mann government.

The actual tale of the power relationships within the Aam Aadmi Party is not particularly novel. Following the Anna Hazare-led India against Corruption movement, the AAP was created as a confluence of several philosophies. Kejriwal has eliminated all of the probable opponents over time, though.

Some political experts and AAP insiders have the opinion that anyone who has the potential to surpass Kejriwal is not highly liked within the party. This is why the Opposition parties like the Congress, Shiromani Akali Dal, Bharatiya Janata Party and others believe that Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann has lesser freedom and mostly follows the instructions from Delhi.

How did Kejriwal micromanage Punjab campaign?

Immediately following Delhi's triumph, Kejriwal implemented his growth strategy. He designated Manish Sisodia as the in-charge of Uttarakhand, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh as the in-charge of Uttar Pradesh, and Atishi as the in-charge of Goa, and Raghav Chadha as the co-in-charge of Punjab to carry out this. Kejriwal made it quite clear in his message that he would directly oversee Punjab through Chadha.

Similar to this, the Delhi chief minister's team handled every aspect of the Punjab campaign, including managing the media. An internal survey conducted in Punjab by the AAP before the election campaigns revealed that the party had a strong probability of winning the elections. Following this, it became apparent among the AAP leaders that Kejriwal would choose Bhagwant Mann to represent the party as its candidate for chief minister. Political analysts believe that reason behind the choice of Mann is not only his closeness to AAP supremo but also his obedient nature.

Remote controlled by Delhi?

When Mann sent bureaucrats from the state administration to meet with Kejriwal on April 12, he first drew flak from the Opposition. On April 25, he also brought them along for a meeting in Delhi. That was the first time the Opposition claimed that the state government was being managed remotely from the national capital. When the Punjab and Delhi governments signed a knowledge-sharing pact on 26 April in order to "learn and share knowledge, expertise, and skills with each other for the welfare of the public", there was backlash too.

Significantly, according to media reports and AAP insiders, several schemes of the Punjab government are also monitored by people close to the Delhi chief minister. For example, according to media reports, the key advisors of Delhi chief minister are overseeing policies like providing 300 units of free electricity, ration delivery scheme, transport sector development and others.

Chadha's new role

Chadha is considered one of the most trusted people of Kejriwal. For example, after he became an MLA, Kejriwal appointed him as the vice chairperson of the Delhi Jal Board. From the very first day of becoming the chief minister, Kejriwal has only kept one department under his direct jurisdiction, which is the water department, for some time. Kejriwal wanted to be associated with the day-to-day functioning of this department, so he appointed Chadha.

Similarly, after the Delhi riots, when the issue of the AAP's silence on the atrocities against Muslims became a talking point, the Delhi Assembly formed a committee for peace and harmony. According to AAP sources, first, the legislative party appointed MLA and AAP's chief spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj as the chairperson, but after the intervention of the Delhi chief minister, he was removed and Raghav Chadha was appointed to head the committee. During this tenure, he took several decisions, like calling over officials of Facebook and others for allegedly giving a platform to hate speech.

Similarly, after the victory of Punjab when Kejriwal realised that he would need an eye and ear in the state and decided to send Chadha to the Rajya Sabha. Political observers believe that as an MLA of Delhi it would have been difficult for Chadha to oversee the works of the Punjab government for legal barriers. However, as an MP from Punjab, he will have more access both to the state and the government.

Sangrur bypoll result

According to the sources in the AAP, the Sangrur bypoll result has irked the Delhi CM. Sangrur was the bastion of the AAP and the home turf of the Bhagwant Mann. The party was majorly dependent on him in this poll but did not succeed. Several questions against the Bhagwant Mann government were also raised in terms of policies and delays in implementing the promises. This is why it became important for Kejriwal to closely get involved in the works of the Punjab government. To do this the idea of the advisory panel came.

The AAP believes that all the promises were made by Kejriwal before the elections and it is his duty to oversee the implementation of his promises which would be the key work of this committee.

(The author is an independent journalist and columnist based in Kolkata and a former policy research fellow at the Delhi Assembly Research Centre). (Courtesy: Firstpost)