AAP to seek saints’ help for yatra targeting BJP in Uttar Pradesh

To make a mark in Uttar Pradesh ahead of the Lok Sabha election next year, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is attempting to mobilise the Bharatiya Janata Party’s core support groups in its favour.

The AAP, which is in power in New Delhi, will contest around 100 seats in the general elections, including a few seats in Uttar Pradesh. So far, Apna Dal (Krishna Patel faction) has joined hands with the AAP in its campaign against the saffron party. A state leader of AAP said they are also in talks with some other outfits and social groups.

The AAP has announced its ‘Bhajpa Bhagao, Bhagwan Bachao’ (Oust BJP, Save Gods) march and the ‘Kisan Berozgar Sansad’ (convention for farmers and unemployed youth) in January next year, intended to target the BJP-led governments in the state and the Centre.

The Arvind Kejriwal-led party is also capitalising on Swami Vivekanand and Subhas Chandra Bose, the national icons that the saffron party has been tapping into.

A state leader of the party said the march was aimed at mobilising people against the BJP’s alleged demolition of temples in Varanasi in the name of development.

The yatra will start from Ayodhya on January 12, the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekanand, and end in Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s constituency Varanasi on January 14. The ‘Kisan Berozgar Sansad’ has been scheduled in Ayodhya on January 23, the birth anniversary of Subhas Chandra Bose.

A senior AAP leader said, “The BJP emerged as a pro-Hindu party after the Ram Mandir movement and the epicentre was Ayodhya. By organising rallies and meetings in Ayodhya, our party is trying to take on the BJP.”

The AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who has visited UP several times, accused the BJP of using gods and temples for political gains.

“Our ‘yatra’ from Ayodhya to Kashi is aimed at exposing its pseudo agenda. We are in touch with Hindu saints, who are also annoyed with the BJP’s vote politics.”

“Swami Vivekanand is a national icon and was a torchbearer of Sanatan Dharma across the world. His birth anniversary will be the best day to start a movement against those using ‘dharma’ to gain political power,” Sharma said as he was asked about the significance of the dates his party has chosen.

“The ‘Kisan Berozgar Sansad’ on Subhas Jayanti is a warning to the state and the central governments to fall in line. Just as Bose challenged the British government, farmers and unemployed youths will also stand up against the BJP’s suppressing policies,” he said.