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After being in the news for all the wrong reasons in the wake of the party's back-to-back electoral setbacks besides the raging intra-party power struggle, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is in damage control mode and has decided to avoid the media glare for some time to improve its public image.

Sources told The Statesman that the continuous negative media coverage of AAP has created an adverse impact on the minds of public who had voted in huge numbers in favour of the party in the 2015 assembly election.

Since the day AAP formed the government, some media houses, especially the electronic media under a well-planned strategy have been consistently working to defame the party. And the way these media houses blow things out of proportion after the partys recent electoral losses, the party has decided to disengage itself from such media outlets, sources said.

Sources said AAP has shifted its focus to re-energise the party cadre and work at the grassroots level to reconnect with the people that voted the party to power in 2015.

After AAPs dismal performance in the Goa and Punjab assembly polls as well as the Delhi municipal elections followed by the partys internal rift, Kejriwal is toiling hard to iron out the differences over the functioning of the party and focus on administration work in the national capital.

AAP also went in for a major internal restructuring with top leaders resigning from important party positions.

AAP Delhi convener Dilip Pandey was replaced by Labour minister Gopal Rai. Vice chairman of Delhi Dialogue Commission Ashish Khetan was appointed as a new advisor to Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal after Ashish Talwar's resignation. Punjab in-charge Sanjay Singh also resigned from his post.

Sources said AAP is now focusing on social media to highlight the developmental work carried by its government in the capital.

The strategy is bearing fruit. All AAP leaders have a huge following on Facebook and twitter and people are recognising their work in the government, sources said.

Talking to The Statesman, AAP's chief Delhi spokesperson, Saurabh Bharadwaj said most media houses in the country have lost their credibility when it comes to the ethics of journalism.

Most of the media houses are being run by private investors that have made them biased. There is no neutrality in media these days, he said.

Bharadwaj said even though the party is not avoiding the mainstream media, it prefers to communicate through social media because of its impartiality.

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The Statesman: AAP in damage control mode, shuns media - The Statesman