Democratic AAP Takes a Dictatorial Turn

Following their landslide victory in the Delhi elections earlier this year, the Aam Aadmi Party has been caught up in a dramatic internal battle. While some have painted this as an inevitable power struggle for control of the party, others point to how this is actually a fight regarding the core ideology espoused by the party - of a system of transparent politics where the ends cannot always justify the means.

The last week has seen two of the party's founder members being expelled from various key decision making bodies of the party for supposedly carrying out anti-party activities. To understand the reasons behind this extremely public tussle, Newsclick interviews Aam Aadmi Party member Amina Shervani on the differences within the AAP leadership that have led to the expulsion of Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan from the party's National Executive Council. Why did this battle become so bitter and what does this mean for the future of the AAP?

Amina explains how the present rift is a by product of ideological bankruptcy between the various egos leading the party and a clear shift towards an authoritarian mode of decision making. She believes that the party has violated notions of democracy it has always espoused and that therefore there is a need for the party to urgently analyse and reconsider the direction in which it is headed.

Disclaimer: The views expressed here are the speakers personal views, and do not necessarily represent the views of Newsclick