New Delhi, April 11: Kumar Vishwas, on Wednesday, was removed as the state in-charge of Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Rajasthan. Instead, Deepak Bajpai has been appointed as his replacement. The move to replace Vishwas with Bajpai comes ahead of the crucial Rajasthan Assembly Elections that will be held later this year.

Is Vishwas’ axing a result of the strained relations with the top leadership? Well, it seems so. There were tensions rising from both, Vishwas and Arvind Kejriwal’s camps recently. Vishwas had previously stated that there was lack of support from the top leadership. People close to Kejriwal had alleged that Vishwas is attempting a ‘coup’ within the party.

Both Kumar Vishwas and Arvind Kejriwal shared more than a cordial relationship a few years back. However, it seems that the turn of events in the last year or two has soured the relationship beyond repair. Vishwas was appointed as the state in-charge of Rajasthan, only a year ago. And the current removal from AAP unit’s in-charge in the state ahead of Rajasthan Polls will only worsen things ahead.

Whether the move to remove Kumar Vishwas is a political one or a strategic one is for time to tell. However, senior AAP member Ashutosh said that he (Kumar Vishwas) is not able to take out time for party’s work and hence he has been removed from the post.

Talking about Deepak Bajpai’s appointment as the Rajasthan’s state in-charge, Ashutosh said that he (Deepak Bajpai) will be in the state to strengthen AAP’s base, strategise and plan for the upcoming polls and select the list of candidates for the elections amongst other works. The AAP’s spokesperson Ashutosh further added that the party will fight with full strength in the forthcoming Rajasthan Elections 2018.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 11, 2018 04:19 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).