Vishwas, Bharti question Kejriwal's 'ability to win polls'

Agreeing with Aam Aadmi Party leader Kumar Vishwas’ doubt over party convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s ability to win elections, party MLA Somnath Bharti on Friday said the party needs to think beyond electronic voting machines, adding introspection is necessary for the party's upliftment.

“The question raised by Kumar Vishwas is on every AAP member’s mind. Every member who has served for this party and worked hard is worried. We have to go beyond the issue of EVMs. If we say the party has lost because of the EVMs then that would not be right. The most important thing is to improve the party’s condition first,” Bharti said.

He said that the party has lost the recent elections from its own standards.

“All those hopes and aspirations that people have from us, we have lagged in that. Development is needed on a large scale now. I think introspection is very much needed for the betterment of the party. People of Delhi expect a lot from us and in comparison to that our performance was not up to the mark. They expect nothing from the Bharatiya Janata Party and the Congress,” he added.

Bharti further said that this is high time the party took things seriously.

“Arvind Kejriwal and Kumar Vishwas have their own individual fan following in the entire nation. I think Vishwas should get the responsibility to expand the party. We had many expectations from the party is the recent elections,” he added.

He asserted that whoever is in the party is worried about the current situation and therefore, they are coming out now.

In yet another blow to Kejriwal, his aide Vishwas has raised doubts about the former's ability to win elections and said the party should do soul-searching for the repeated loses.

He suggested that the party should consider taking drastic steps, including leadership change, if it wants to remain viable in the political arena.

The AAP leader questioned Kejriwal’s defence for losing Punjab elections, Rajouri bypoll as well as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections.

He said that Kejriwal’s stand on the surgical strikes was wrong.

He blamed the AAP’s loss in the Punjab election on the party’s wrong decision.

He said that the party needs ‘radical reforms’.

In the recent past, other AAP leaders like Alka Lamba and Kapil Mishra have also been critical of the party’s views on the poll debacles.