Manish Sisodia, Satyendar Jain, Vijay Nair: The new 'power centres' of Punjab AAP; internal battle in party ahead of 2027 polls
(AAP) in Punjab, as its Delhi-based top leadership has decided to spend more time in the border state, the only one which the party currently governs following the defeat in Delhi after over a decade, in February.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
The formal beginning came when Punjab affairs were entrusted to senior leaders and former Delhi ministers Manish Sisodia and Satyendra Jain,
.
Both Sisodia and Jain were among the AAP heavyweights who lost in the national capital, as did party supremo and ex-CM
and Saurabh Bharadwaj, among others.
"The ministries have been evenly divided between the two leaders, who are spearheading policy initiatives. While Sisodia is handling key portfolios like finance and education, Jain has health and social welfare related portfolios," Punjab officials who did not be wish to be named, told ET.
Earlier, Punjab affairs had been entrusted to Rajya Sabha MPs Raghav Chadha and Sandeep Pathak. However, Chadha is now focusing on creating a profile separate from his party, and Pathak is in-charge of its unit in Chhattisgarh.
The Vijay Nair influence
Another individual who has emerged as a new power centre here is Vijay Nair, AAP's communications head and an accused in the Delhi liquor policy case. As per party sources, in the middle of the recent Ludhiana West by-election, which the AAP candidate won, Nair asked eight members of Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann's social media team to resign, prompting the Punjab leadership to retaliate.
"This (resignation of Mann's social media team) was done by Nair, who said the team's conduct was not above board. Within days, the Punjab leadership sought the resignation of two members of Nair's team involved in media management on the grounds of corruption. The logic was - you got Punjab people sacked, we will drive Delhi people out," a source said.
The corruption factor
Also, there is "angst" within the cadre which feels the party is no longer what it claimed to work for, especially the anti-corruption plank.
Tired of too many ads? go ad free now
"If you look at the boards and commissions across Punjab, they are filled with Delhi's consultants. They are running the show. The demand for Lokpal was the mainstay of the movement that brought AAP into existence. Where is Lokpal now that AAP is in government?" asked ex-spokesperson Iqbal Singh.
Punjab's industry owners also complain - openly - of the "rate of corruption" going up.
"The rate of corruption has gone up four or five times.
Earlier, just for ease of clearances, four of us industry owners used to pay a liaison person money to get certificates and permissions. There was no illegality but just to expedite the process. Now the person is charging 50% more," the owner of a Ludhiana-base hosiery unit stated.
BJP vs AAP
Attacking the Kejriwal-led outfit, Punjab BJP president Sunil Jakhar termed the former as "super CM" and Mann as "de facto CM."
"The entire governance has been outsourced.
This is the first time that Cabinet meetings are taking place not in the CM's office but at the CM's residence. This gives enough leeway for outsiders to attend these meetings. It is not Mann who is presiding over the Cabinet but Kejriwal and Sisodia," Jakhar alleged.
However, state AAP spokesperson Neel Garg defended the leadership's involvement in Punjab affairs. He also denied any "rift" between the two state units.
"Delhi is getting involved in a guidance role. When elections take place, it is the party that goes for polls not the government. The central leadership is guiding the party how to run police matters. It is for the benefit of Punjab," Garg said.
What next?
Sensing it is in a difficult position in Punjab, where its maiden term will end in March 2027 followed by the assembly election, the AAP has launched various initiatives, including one against the drug menace, an emotive issue here. Under "Yudh Nashian Virudh" (War Against Drugs) campaign, the police have apprehended 19,735 smugglers in 120 days.
The state government has also introduced the land pooling scheme for the planned development of its cities. It is also looking for investments to fund its welfare initiatives.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Hindu
25 minutes ago
- The Hindu
When will PM Modi breaks silence: Congress after Donald Trump repeats ‘stopped India-Pak conflict' claim
The Congress on Tuesday (July 8, 2025) said U.S. President Donald Trump has for at least the 21st time repeated his claims on bringing about a "ceasefire" between India and Pakistan, and asked when will Prime Minister Narendra Modi break his "silence" on this issue. In his remarks on Monday (July 7, 2025), Mr. Trump repeated the claim that he stopped the war between India and Pakistan by telling the two neighbours that Washington would not do trade with them if they continued the fighting. Congress general secretary in-charge communications Jairam Ramesh said, "For at least the 21st time in the last 59 days, President Trump has said that he "stopped the four-day India-Pakistan war in May; the war was about to escalate into a nuclear conflict." Mr. Trump has stated that India and Pakistan agreed to a ceasefire because the carrot-and-stick of trade with the U.S. was used by him, Mr. Ramesh said. "In other words, his message was: stop the war at once or face the real prospects of losing American markets (and presumably investment)," he said. 'President Trump has trumpeted all this just as he was also announcing that a US trade deal with India and Pakistan was about to be declared very soon,' Mr. Ramesh said. "When will Narendra Modi — once described by his senior colleague Ghanshyam Tiwari as the BJP's 'trump card' - break his silence on this issue?" the Congress leader said. Mr. Trump on Monday (July 7, 2025) said the U.S. is close to making a trade deal with India. "Now, we've made a deal with the United Kingdom, we've made a deal with China. We're close to making a deal with India. Others we met with and we don't think we're going to be able to make a deal, so we just send them a letter. If you want to play ball, this is what you have to pay," Mr. Trump said. Repeating his claim about bringing about a ceasefire between India and Pakistan, Trump said, "We did a job with India and Pakistan, Serbia, Kosovo, Rwanda and the Congo, and this was all over the last three weeks or so and others that were ready to fight." "And we stopped a lot of fights. I think the very big one, frankly, a very, very big one, was India and Pakistan. And we stopped that over trade," he said. "We said we're not going to be dealing with you at all if you're going to fight. And they were maybe at a nuclear stage. They're both nuclear powers. And I think stopping that was very important," Mr. Trump added. Since May 10, Mr. Trump has repeated his claim several times that he helped settle the tensions between India and Pakistan and that he told the nuclear-armed South Asian neighbours that America will do a lot of trade with them if they stop the conflict. India launched Operation Sindoor on May 7, targeting terrorist infrastructure in territories controlled by Pakistan in response to the Pahalgam terror attack. The strikes triggered four days of intense clashes that ended with an understanding on stopping the military actions on May 10. New Delhi has been maintaining that India's fierce counter-attack that day forced Pakistan to plead for ending the hostilities.
India Today
31 minutes ago
- India Today
MNS leader's son quizzed for 6 hours, says he consumed alcohol before joyride
The son of Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) leader Javed Shaikh, Rahil, who got into a tiff with Mumbai-based influencer Rajshree More after hitting her car in a drunken state, has admitted to drinking heavily at a friend's house on Sunday before his mother called and asked him to come home, Mumbai Police sources told India Today a drunken state, he hit Rajshree's car in Mumbai's Lokhandwala and then misbehaved with her. Rahil, a resident of Thane, was questioned for six hours, during which his father was present, the sources filed a complaint with the Amboli police and demanded strict action against Rahil. She said that she felt threatened during the incident. A close friend of Rakhi Sawant, Rajshree, made headlinesfew weeks back after she posted a video on social media where she made contentious comments about the local Maharashtrian the video, she questioned the efforts to enforce the Marathi language on the state's residents and argued that local Marathi people should instead be motivated to work also warned that Mumbai's local Marathi community's condition could worsen if migrants left the SENA LEADER CONDEMNS INCIDENTAfter the matter came to light, Shiv Sena (Eknath Shinde) leader Sanjay Nirupam condemned the incident and slammed Rahil for his indecent behaviour with a woman."MNS leader Javed Shaikh's son has misbehaved with a woman. He rammed his car into hers and was drunk. What kind of Muslim is he who consumes alcohol? When the woman resisted, he abused her and flaunted his father's position," Nirupam said in a video message on added that the MNS is resorting to hooliganism in the name of Marathi. "They don't care about Marathi language or it's cultural pride. If they did, they wouldn't have misbehaved with Rajshri More".Nirpuam also questioned as to why only Hindus are attacked by MNS workers. He dared them to try and attack Urdu-speaking people in the name of Sena leader claimed that the MNS is running a campaign against Hindus at the behest of its Muslim leaders like Javed requested the state government to take MNS "goons" to task and ensure the safety and security of the people belonging to all sections of society in the state.- Ends
Indian Express
39 minutes ago
- Indian Express
Punjab Cabinet withdraws consent for CISF deployment at dams given by Channi govt
The Punjab Cabinet chaired by Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann on Monday withdrew the consent for the deployment of Central Industrial Security Force (CISF) at the dams in the state given by the Congress government in 2021 and decided to bring a resolution in the Assembly session beginning July 10 against the deployment of the central force at the Bhakra Beas Management Board (BBMB) dams. Addressing the media after the meeting, Finance Minister Harpal Cheema said, 'During its 111-day regime, former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi-led Congress government in Punjab had on October 21, 2021, given its consent to the Centre for the CISF deployments at dams in the state. The Cabinet today approved the withdrawal of that consent with immediate effect. During the upcoming Assembly session, we will bring a special resolution that CISF will not be allowed.' In May, the Centre had sanctioned a contingent of 296 armed CISF personnel to provide a counter-terrorist security cover to the Nangal dam in Punjab amid the standoff between Punjab and Haryana over the sharing of water from the dam. By mid-May, the Centre ordered the deployment of the CISF at the Bhakra Dam, citing concerns over the security of critical infrastructure. The Centre had clarified that the move was not politically motivated but a response to security lapses, especially after BBMB engineers and senior officers complained of being unable to perform their duties under coercion from the state. Later, at a NITI Aayog meeting in Delhi, Mann opposed the Centre's move to deploy CISF. However, CISF personnel have yet to be deployed. Cheema said the Punjab Police is a capable force and it will continue to provide security at the dams. 'Shahpur Kandi dam is 5 km from the International Border (IB). The Punjab Police is manning it. Bhakra Dam is far away from the border. The Punjab Police is strong and competent. They have protected the country. We will not allow CISF to take over the security of the dams.' Cheema said the Punjab government would neither pay for their (CISF) deployment nor allow them to take over the dams.
