By Satinder Bains
CHANDIGARH: The Bhagwant Mann–led Punjab government is facing questions over what appears to be selective publicity around senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders from Delhi, including party supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia, besides AAP MP Raghav Chadha who toured flood-hit areas of the state recently.
Punjab News Express earlier reported that no official press note was issued by the state Public Relations (PR) department on Kejriwal’s September 4 visit to Kapurthala. By contrast, the department circulated multiple releases on Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann’s September 2 visits and on daily relief work by cabinet ministers. A press note was also issued on AAP MP Sanjay Singh’s visit to Fazilka, but none on MP Raghav Chadha’s engagement a day later—amid talk of his strained equation with the CM.
On Sunday in Chandigarh, Manish Sisodia addressed a press conference on the flood situation; again, no official PR note followed. Sisodia was unable to meet the Chief Minister at Fortis Hospital, where Mann held a review meeting with DGP Gaurav Yadav, Chief Secretary V.K. Singh and other officials. Sisodia later said he had spoken to the CM by phone. Kejriwal was also unable to meet Mann in person during his visit, owing to the CM’s ill health.
While there is no official confirmation of behind-the-scenes tensions, party insiders say Mann has pushed back against what he views as undue interference by central leaders in day-to-day governance. A purported remark attributed to Sisodia at a meeting of women party workers—“We want to win the 2027 assembly elections by using all illegal means”—has further inflamed matters. The comment, allegedly made in the presence of Mann and senior leader Aman Arora, sparked backlash for undermining AAP’s “party with a difference” image; Mann is understood to have expressed displeasure.
As of now, neither the Chief Minister’s Office nor AAP’s central leadership has issued an on-record response to the questions around selective PR coverage or the alleged rift. Political chatter suggests the AAP top brass is eyeing a change of guard—and the CM is pushing back to curb their influence.