With the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) suffering humiliating defeat in the Assembly by-election held for Rajouri Garden constituency in Delhi, the chorus for making party's Punjab unit 'independent' is set to grow louder.
Post the AAP loss in Punjab Assembly elections, many party leaders have already spoken against the interference of Delhi leadership in affairs of the state unit.
Leaders favor more powers for the state leadership in Punjab which is the only state besides Delhi where the party has tasted electoral success by winning four seats in Lok Sabha and 20 seats in just concluded Assembly polls.
"Local leadership should be given more say in the affairs of the party in Punjab. Punjab unit should be free to take its decisions. The Central leadership and political affairs committee (PAC) will remain the final authority, but we should be given more rights to take our decisions," AAP Punjab convener Gurpreet Singh Waraich told The Statesman.
He said the issue has already been conveyed to the party leadership in Delhi and the PAC would take the final decision in the matter after municipal elections in Delhi.
Waraich said the party needs to re-work the organizational structure so that it can be understood by the party volunteers. "In our organisation, we have state convener, circle in-charges and zonal in-charges. But instead of such designations, we should go for more traditional designations like state president, district president or block in charge so that volunteers have a clarity on the role of each and every office bearer, " he added.
re-work the state unit, AAP will evaluate the contribution of state leaders during the Assembly polls. During AAP's post-poll review meeting recently in Jalandhar, state leaders criticised the complete control of Delhi-based leaders over campaigning in Punjab and lack of trust in local leaders which gave rival parties a chance to tag AAP leaders as "outsiders".
They blamed the observers sent from Delhi for running the poll campaign according to their own whims which became the main reason party's shocking loss. Party's strategy to project its CM face was also blamed as a reason for the poll loss.