New Delhi:
The Aam Aadmi Party's political affairs committee or PAC met on Tuesday evening at Arvind Kejriwal's residence in Ghaziabad, a suburb of the national capital, amid hectic activity to control damage from the infighting that has hit the party days after it swept the Delhi elections. In the meeting a decision was taken to expand the party and contest polls in other states, sources said.
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The decisions to go national and enroll active volunteers mark the most significant decisions taken by the AAP following Mr Kejriwal's return from a 10-day break at a Bengaluru health camp. The AAP chief had earlier expressed his reservations about fighting elections in other parts of the country.
Five members of the core team of AAP's seven decision-makers met today, with two out of town. Two others - founder members Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan - were sacked from the panel earlier this month. Chief on agenda was reconciliation with them. Ashish Khetan, Ashutosh and Dilip Pandey are the special invitees.
"Welcome PAC's statement to expand the organisation nationally & to consider contesting elections outside Delhi. Step in the right direction. (sic)," Mr Yadav tweeted.
Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, who heads AAP, sent a team of four party leaders to hold talks with Yogendra Yadav on Monday night. The same team is likely to meet Prashant Bhushan. Mr Kejriwal will not be part of these meetings, sources said.
To a text message from Prashant Bhushan seeking a one-on one meeting to "end the controversy", Mr Kejriwal was non-committal, replying on text, "will meet soon." He said he was busy right now with the state vote on account or interim budget.
Yogendra Yadav briefly met Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday when they were summoned to a Delhi court for a case that accuses them of defamation. This was the first time the two AAP leaders met since the rift in the party.
Soon after landing in Delhi on Monday evening, Mr Kejriwal met senior AAP leaders and expressed displeasure at public statements made by both sides in his absence, sources said. He reportedly said that airing differences in public will affect the morale of the AAP volunteers, universally acknowledged as the backbone of the party. He wants both sides to talk things out now, sources said.
Talks between Yogendra Yadav and AAP leaders Sanjay Singh, Kumar Vishwas, Ashish Khetan and Ashutosh, continued till about 3 am and were described by sources close to Mr Yadav as "positive". They said efforts for a truce would continue. "There is peace after a three-hour sleep. There is peace now. We will be successful," party leader Kumar Vishwas tweeted yesterday morning.
Mr Bhushan and Mr Yadav were dropped from the PAC reportedly at the urging of the Chief Minister and his supporters. Since then, the rival camps have used leaked letters and hidden camera stings to malign each other.
The Kejriwal camp had alleged that Mr Bhushan and Mr Yadav wanted the party to lose the Delhi Assembly elections and were attempting to remove the Delhi Chief Minister from the post of AAP National Convener, which makes him the top-most authority in the party.
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