The Aam Aadmi Party’s decision to replace halqa incharges in five of the nine Assembly constituencies it lost in Jalandhar district in the 2022 elections has triggered signs of internal dissent, with former Jalandhar Cantonment in-charge Rajwinder Kaur Thiara questioning the leadership’s decision in an audio recording that went viral on Tuesday.The recording, from a conference call with party leaders, captures Thiara breaking down emotionally, invoking her 14 years of service and questioning the survey cited to justify her replacement by state general secretary Deepak Bali five days earlier.While the changes in Shahkot, Phillaur and Adampur did not trigger any visible unrest, the first backlash was from Jalandhar North last month when former in-charge Dinesh Dhall quit the AAP to join the BJP.In the recording, Thiara claims she worked tirelessly to build the party’s base in Jalandhar Cantt, with supporters devoting hours to organisational activities over the past four years. She also cites her contribution to the party’s campaigns outside the state, including in Gujarat and questions why her years of commitment and personal sacrifices have not been considered.She seeks details of the survey, asking who conducted it, when it was carried out and why its findings were not shared with her. Thiara also questions Bali’s appointment, claiming his public recognition in rural areas of the constituency is limited.The discontent had surfaced on October 17, when six AAP councillors and 10 block presidents threatened to resign over Bali’s appointment. According to party members, members of the Mahila wing, around 40 sarpanches and panches, and two zila parishad members also threatened to quit if the decision was not reversed within two days.The protesting leaders argued that Thiara had worked hard for the party and had previously been removed as chairperson of the Jalandhar Improvement Trust.The Jalandhar Cantonment Assembly seat is represented by Congress MLA Pargat Singh. Bali’s appointment came days after Pargat was appointed Punjab Congress Committee president. Hockey Olympian Surinder Singh Sodhi had contested against Pargat in the 2022 Assembly elections and lost by 5,800 votes.Contacted for comment, Bali said he could not speak at length about the audio because he was not part of the conference call and had been unable to listen to the recording due to engagements related to Dussehra events in the constituency.He said he respected Thiara and wanted her to support his campaign, adding that he had tried to approach her several times over the past few days, but she appeared occupied.