New Delhi, Feb 11 (IANS) In a meeting with Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Singh Mann and 91 state MLAs, AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal on Tuesday called for collective focus on the Assembly polls in the agrarian state in 2027 and dismissed talk of trouble in the party in that state, said a party leader. The meeting sent out a strong signal about there being no threat to the party’s government in Punjab amid claims by rival Congress about a brewing discontent after the AAP’s defeat in Delhi. Besides Kejriwal, AAP leaders Manish Sisodia and Sandeep Pathak were also present in the meeting in which Delhi leaders thanked Punjab leaders for their efforts in the party’s campaign and dissected the loss in the national Capital to take forward the learnings from it, said a party leader.

After the meeting, CM Mann said discussions were also held on developing a new model for the agrarian state. Reacting to Congress leader Partap Singh Bajwa’s claim that 30 AAP MLAs of the state's ruling party were in touch with him, CM Mann said it is their party’s culture to jump ships. “He has been saying this for the last three years,” he said. Talking about the party’s loss in Delhi, he alleged that the "BJP used malpractices of distributing gifts and we were forced to complain to the Election Commission every fourth hour. But we respect the Delhi voters' mandate.” He also assured that the AAP government in Punjab would fulfil its guarantee of paying Rs 1,000 to women in the state but refused to share any deadline to deliver on the promise.

CM Mann said that the AAP government was committed to fulfilling all poll promises and said the government has gone beyond the poll promises for public welfare. “We shut down 17 toll plazas bringing a daily relief of Rs 62 lakh to commuters,” he said while highlighting the welfare work done by the Punjab government. “We are committed to spending public money on them,” said CM Mann. The meeting came in the wake of the AAP's rout in the Delhi Assembly elections and growing speculation about internal dissent in the party's Punjab unit. Earlier, AAP MP Malvinder Singh Kang downplayed the reports of dissent and termed the party's meeting in Delhi as a "routine strategy session".

AAP Punjab President Aman Arora also said earlier that there was nothing to read in the meeting. "It is a general meeting. The party chief will be addressing all of us after the Delhi elections. Otherwise, we have no fear of anyone. We are united. Such meetings have been held in the past also. There is nothing new. Since Kejriwal has not addressed us for a long time now, we will be going to meet him," said Arora. The AAP, which had been in power in Delhi for a decade, suffered a major setback in the February 5 polls, securing only 22 seats in the 70-member House. The BJP with 48 seats ended the AAP's rule in the national Capital, raising concerns about the party's electoral prospects elsewhere.

/IANS