New Delhi: Over two years after a bitter split, Swaraj Abhiyan and the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) will march together once again in Delhi on Thursday. Leaders from the two outfits will be seen together in an event organised in memory of the slain journalist Gauri Lankesh, in what is being read as initial signs of splinter groups testing waters for a possible patch-up.
Both Swaraj Abhiyan and AAP, however, claim that leaders participating in the march would be doing it “in their personal capacities”.
This is the third time within a month that leaders from two outfits have made common cause with Left-liberal forces.
On September 12, during the ‘I am Gauri Lankesh’ protests in Bengaluru, Swaraj Abhiyan co-founder Prashant Bhushan suggested that a similar protest should be organised in the national capital. A source close to Bhushan said AAP leader Ashish Khetan, who was also reportedly in Bengaluru, concurred with Bhushan.
“The issue hit home with Ashish Khetan. He has been at the receiving end of death threats from Hindutva groups. The issue of fighting fascism is above petty party politics,” said the Swaraj Abhiyan source. On September 27, Yogendra Yadav, representing Swaraj Abhiyan, and Dilip Pandey, representing AAP, shared the dais and announced a coalition against fascism. With them were activists such as CPI (ML) Red Star’s KN Ramachandran and Dalit rights activist Jignesh Mewani.
"Symbols of dissent are being silenced. AAP leader Ashish Khetan has received threats from Hindu extremist groups. The solution lies in struggle and we will back all such movements,” Pandey had told the press. But since then, the “coalition” has only opened old wounds on both sides.
News18 reached out to Khetan but he was unavailable for comment.
When asked about speculation of a merger, Swaraj Abhiyan founder Yogendra Yadav said these reports were untrue. “This (reports of a merger) is getting exasperating now. I had clarified on my Facebook page that this is not true. The idea of this march was mooted by Prashant Ji and many people, including some in the AAP, expressed interest in joining. We did not want to stop anyone from joining. Even during the Narmada Bachao protests, we were on the same side. My sense is that some social media handlers of the AAP are pushing this notion informally since they see they have something to gain from this,” Yadav told News18.
Swaraj Abhiyan sources have attributed reports of merger talks to Kejriwal's complete rejection amongst mainstream political parties. Abhiyan sources claim, “The problem is that AAP is a political pariah. Nobody wants to be seen with Arvind Kejriwal, nobody wants to call him for meetings. He will leap at any opportunity to be accepted by anyone. The goals of the AAP and Swaraj Abhiyan will align far more with each other than they would with, say, BJP or Congress. After all, the Anna movement was the fountainhead for us both. But that doesn’t mean we will join them.”
The second reason could be common volunteer force working for AAP and Swaraj India. Both outfits were propelled by the anti-corruption movement led by Anna Hazare.
"There are many ground workers who work for both parties. By doing this, Arvind Kejriwal is sending a message that our goals are aligned. They don’t want their own workers to leave,” says a Swaraj Abhiyan source.
An AAP MLA, on condition of anonymity, told News18 said they were open to the idea of a merger.
“We have always made it clear that our doors are always open for those who left the party. Arvind had recently said that we want to grow the AAP family, not reduce it in size. If they (Bhushan and Yadav) ever want to talk to us, all they need to do is pick up the phone and reach out. But I know they won’t. What benefit would we get by joining hands with them? We are the larger party, with a larger footprint and a larger workforce. The people are with us.”
Saurabh Bhardwaj, AAP Chief Spokesperson, however, clarified that "AAP is not officially a part of this rally, although I think some people have expressed interest in going in their individual capacity. This issue is above party politics. AAP has always been against fascism and anti-democratic forces.”
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