Game of thrones: After AAP, Yadav-Bhushan's Swaraj Abhiyaan may fall prey to power lust

New Delhi: Arvind Kejriwal is not alone. The camp opposing him is in the grips of the same kind of conflict that AAP has faced. The newly-formed faction  Swaraj Abhiyaan – formed by the dissident (now expelled) AAP leaders Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Anand Kumar and Ajit Jha – seems to be grappling with the same evils like scheming, intrigues and political maneuvering, which they had alleged AAP is suffering from. Swaraj Abhiyan is yet to take the shape of a political party. A section of volunteers within the faction led by Yadav and Bhushan has apparently expressed ‘discontent and frustration’ over sudden turn of events. However, there have been just some murmurs of discontent, no one has openly come out against Yadav and Bhushan. [caption id=“attachment_2205900” align=“alignleft” width=“380”] Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav. PTI.[/caption] “I had realized that the internal democracy we have been talking about, was missing in AAP, even before the party formed the government in Delhi. That’s why many volunteers preferred to side with Prashant Bhushan and Yogendra Yadav and become a part of Swaraj Samwad. But, now gradually along with me, some of the other volunteers are are feeling that the same problems persist in Swaraj Abhiyan. We fear that the this group will meet the same fate as AAP. It is very frustrating, " a volunteer said on condition of anonymity. A large number of AAP volunteers, especially from its Haryana unit shifted allegiance from the parent party to the newly formed faction alleging that the AAP had failed to stick to its founding principles like internal democracy, transparency and freedom of speech for its volunteers. “Swaraj is missing,” hundreds of AAP volunteers and a few founding members, who came from different states to participate in the dialogue, had alleged. But, their quest for ‘Swaraj’ apparently seems to have hit a dead end. “There is no problem with the top leadership as of now. I’m not contemplating leaving Swaraj Abhiyan right away. But, issues like ego, lust for power, one-upmanship, backbiting and lack of internal discipline have already started emerging in the lower ranks. What will happen, once this movement takes the shape of a political party?” questioned another Gurgaon-based volunteer. The friction between groups of volunteers was evident right from the day of the launch of Swaraj Samwad. Yadav, accompanied by a group of senior leaders, was spotted asking some volunteers and leaders to ‘calm down’ and break into arguments in front of the public. “This just a group of people who disagree with the internal politics of AAP. This isn’t a political party yet. If there is discord, one shouldn’t reveal it in front of public. Why are we then criticizing AAP, if we have to do the same here?” an academician who was attending the public announcement of Swaraj Abhiyan, had told this correspondent on 14 April. Is there any dissent within Swaraj Abhiyan? Radhakrishnan TA Aiyyar, AAP Haryana unit member, said, “It is possible.  We’ve to accept that in a political party, such issues keep surfacing, unfortunate as it may be. We shouldn’t believe that only the best have come and joined the movement. We need to weed out troublemakers." “As of now Swaraj Abhiyan is an apolitical movement. Hence, it’s expected that people with political ambitions will not be active in this group since there is no incentive of contesting polls etc,” said Aiyyar. According to some volunteers in Swaraj Abhiyan, a group within believes that Yadav would transform this movement into a political party. But even before that happens, some have actively got into capturing power, lobbying for posts, pushing their own vested interests ahead of the movement, etc. Will Swaraj Abhiyan indeed go the AAP way? Time will tell.