‘Self-serving’ AFC leaders force Harbhajan to quit

GOBIN Harbhajan, the former Office of the Prime Minister Representative for Region Six and long-serving member of the Alliance For Change (AFC) on Friday resigned from the party he joined some 15 years ago.

In a letter announcing his resignation, Harbhajan thanked the party for the opportunity to serve the people but felt it strayed from its main objective.

“I am of the belief that the party was formed to serve the needs of our people, and, in my humble opinion, those things which were once valued by the members of the party no longer exist,” he said in his resignation letter.

Harbhajan, who has become a household name in Region Six, said he joined the AFC because of his love and passion for helping the people but noted that, up until 2017, he felt the party had the best interest of the people at heart, but some senior members became self-serving and were only interested in power.

“We were the only multi-ethnic party with equal opportunity for everyone, but it became about some senior members looking to get power only for themselves, and they wanted to keep people who were loyal to them in key positions so that, at the national conference, they can get the most votes and yield power,” the former AFC member said.

He noted that some of the very things that the AFC campaigned against, they became guilty of committing. One of these, he noted, was the holding of three separate Regional Management Committee elections for Region Six in which two were declared null and void, because those elected were not “loyal” to a certain senior executive.

He continued that these individuals who were placed at the helm of the Regional Management Committee in Region Six neglected the people and the AFC paid the price dearly at the last Local Government elections (LGE) and ultimately at the 2020 elections.

“Several founding members in Region Six were sidelined for younger blood who were supportive of a senior member but the plan backfired because they did not go on the ground and meet the people,” he said.

Harbhajan said he appealed to the leadership of the party that they needed to get into Region Six and meet with the people, and address their concerns, because it was the votes in the region that helped them to get into office, but they did not pay him any heed.

When quizzed on whether he will be joining another political party, Harbhajan said he is not looking to jump to another party but will focus on the interest of the people, and, if he sees any party that shares the same values as him, he would be willing to join it.