The Rift Grows Wider: Kumar Vishwas Left Out Of AAP’s Foundation Day Celebrations? 

As the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) celebrates Foundation Day on November 26, marking five years since it’s inception, the party has yet again failed to put up a united face. Kumar Vishwas, one of the founding forces behind the party, is yet to receive an invite for the foundation day event, even as most other state units have already received their invitations, as reported by Jansatta.

Vishwas, who is now in charge of the Rajasthan state unit of the party, was also snubbed earlier this month, when he failed to find a slot among the speakers at the party’s National Council. Several National Council members had protested against Vishwas not being allowed to speak, suggesting that the party itself may be internally divided over the leadership.

As the rift in the top party leadership widens, the events act as reminiscent of the tussles within the party in May, when Vishwas was accused by AAP MLA Amanatullah Khan of planning a coup and was called an agent of the Bharatiya Janata Party.

Khan was later suspended from the party to placate Vishwas and Vishwas was made the state in-charge of Rajasthan.

Under Vishwas, the Rajasthan student unit of the party seemed to be doing well, as opposed to the Delhi student unit which didn’t contest the Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) elections following dismal performances earlier.

Notably, Amanatullah Khan’s suspension was revoked by the party on 30 October, citing that no evidence was found by the disciplinary committee for allegations made by Vishwas, in what can be seen as the Arvind Kejriwal faction’s tightening grip on the party.

Several other founding members, including Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan, have earlier quit the party citing Kejriwal’s dictatorial tendencies.