Kejriwal charisma fast losing its sheen: BJP after Khetan quits AAP

New Delhi: Opposition BJP and Congress today sounded doom for the Aam Aadmi Party after senior leaders Ashish Khetan and Ashutosh quit the party in a span of a week, claiming that the development underlines a decline in the charisma of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Hitting out at Kejriwal after Khetan quit the AAP, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari said the party may “vanish” before the next polls for the city assembly.

“Arvind Kejriwal is onetime wonder whose charisma is fast losing its sheen among the people of Delhi and the leaders of his own party. It now appears that by the time of next Vidhan Sabha elections in 2020, the Aam Aadmi Party will vanish from the political horizon,” Tiwari said in a statement. Earlier in the day, Khetan quit the party within a week of exit of another key face — Ashutosh — plunging the party into more trouble.

“To fulfil his political ambitions, Arvind Kejriwal brought together a rabble of politically ambitious activists most of whom had no political ideology and with the passage of time this gathering converted into a Dangal arena,” the BJP leader alleged in the statement. The Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) also slammed the AAP’s national convenor.

“Within 6 years of forming the party, most of the old guards, founding members of AAP have left. Obviously something is terribly wrong within the party,” DPCC’s chief spokesperson Sharmistha Mukherjee tweeted.

In a Facebook post, 46-year-old Khetan said, “For the past two years I have been plagued with self doubt and the question of whether I wanted to continue in electoral politics. “Early this year I made my decision to quit active politics after much deliberation and in consultation with family and close friends.” 

AAP insiders said discontentment among senior leaders grew after AAP nominated city-based businessman Sushil Gupta and chartered accountant ND Gupta for three Rajya Sabha seats from Delhi, along with senior leader Sanjay Singh.