The ever-growing dissent within the Aam Aadmi Party was perspicuous with its prominent woman leader Shazia Ilmi refusing to contest the lok Sabha polls against Congress president Sonia Gandhi from Rae Bareli. Ilmi expressed her reluctance to contest the polls on social networking site Twitter that sent the party leadership on the back foot. The till recently upbeat AAP leaders, who had thrown an open challenge to the Congress president and her son Rahul Gandhi, were at loss of words to justify Ilmi’s decision and negate the growing crack within the party over its chief Arvind Kejriwal’s style of functioning and distribution of tickets. Adding to the speculation, Kumar Vishwas had tweeted a poetic verse, which, too indicated a rift with the party.
Earlier, Mallika Sarabhai and Savita Bhatti too had refused to contest the lok Sabha polls. “I am not contesting from Rae Bareli. I never agreed to nor do I now ... I’ve been denying this for the last two months,” Ilmi tweeted indicating that she was being made a scapegoat. Talks were afloat in the party that Ilmi was to be fielded against Gandhi from Rae Bareli after another AAP leader Kumar Vishwas, was fielded against Congress vice-president Rahul Gandhi from Amethi.
Shazia, however, defended her decision saying that she had no connect with people from the constituency. She further said she would not be contesting the lok Sabha polls. “I had said that I did not want to contest from Rae Bareli since I did not know anyone there and I am not connected with the local unit there. Also, I have some personal reasons. My daughter is appearing for exams,” she said. She further said that she was not upset with the party for giving ticket to journalist Ashish Khetan from New Delhi. “I am not upset over Khetan getting ticket. He is a friend and I will campaign for him. I would have preferred any seat from Delhi as I know the party volunteers here and I have a connect with them,” Ilmi said.
AAP leader Sanjay Singh too sought to play down the news of rift within the party. “The party had asked her (Ilmi) to contest from Rae Bareli, but she doesn’t want to contest from Rae Bareily. It is her own decision there is nothing much that we can do,” he said.
Sources said that Ilmi has expressed her desire to contest either from Farrukhabad, a seat represented by Union Minister Salman Khurshid from the Congress, or any seat from Delhi; preferably North East Delhi seat. He was, source said, also keen on contesting from Kanpur parliamentary seat. A section of party leaders were also of an opinion that Ilmi, who undertakes fund raising campaigns, should be made to campaign instead of pitting her against Gandhi.