Chandigarh: Amid political turbulence following the exit of six Rajya Sabha MPs, the Aam Aadmi Party held a key strategy meeting in Jalandhar on Wednesday, led by Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia.
The meeting lasted nearly three-and-a-half hours, with Sisodia scheduled to address a press conference later in the evening.
Originally planned at the CM residence, the venue was shifted to Shahpur City Campus. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann joined the meeting via video conferencing.
Confusion over agenda, mix of observers and MLAs
The meeting was officially described as a gathering of around 1,000 block observers, but several MLAs and ministers also attended. Participants appeared unclear about the agenda—some termed it a routine organisational review, others linked it to a possible special session or upcoming municipal elections.
Before formal discussions, party members participated in team-building activities, including games like tug-of-war, seen as an attempt to boost unity and signal strength.
Leaders call it routine, dismiss dissent concerns
Nakodar MLA Inderjit Kaur Mann said the meeting was part of a months-long organisational exercise ahead of elections. She added that observers had gathered ground-level feedback from every locality, which would be presented.
Actor-activist Sonia Mann also downplayed concerns, saying such meetings are routine. She alleged that leaders who left the party had compromised their ethics for “comfort and convenience” and denied any risk of MLAs defecting.
Sisodia earlier rejected ‘emergency meeting’ claims
A day earlier, Sisodia had posted on X that the meeting was being wrongly portrayed as an emergency gathering of MLAs. He clarified that it was a regular organisational meeting focused on reviewing grassroots structure, feedback, and future planning.
The meeting comes as AAP tries to contain political fallout and maintain unity ahead of upcoming elections.
