Why AAP is turning up its nose at joining Mamata’s proposed non-BJP opposition front

AAP leaders say they see no urgency to respond to Mamata Banerjee's letter about joining non-BJP front, and will bide their time until Himachal and Gujarat polls later this year.

Illustration by Prajna Ghosh | ThePrint

New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is not keen on joining a proposed opposition front of regional parties, at least until assembly polls in Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh later this year, several senior party functionaries have told ThePrint.

In a letter dated 27 March, West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chief Mamata Banerjee had urged all opposition leaders and CMs to join hands in a fight against the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

Two senior AAP leaders, however, said that party convener Arvind Kejriwal sees no urgency in responding to this letter.

“The strategy is to invest fully in the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh polls now. There will be no decision on joining or not joining any united opposition front till then. We are aware of the West Bengal CM’s open letter, but at this point, there is no plan to openly react to it,” a senior AAP leader, who did not wish to be identified, told ThePrint.

Significantly, Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K. Stalin — who has been part of discussions with Mamata Banerjee about the proposed alliance for a while — visited Delhi last week and met Kejriwal, even visiting government schools and mohalla clinics (primary healthcare centres) with him. The schools and clinics are an essential component of what Kejriwal brands as the ‘Delhi model’, as his party prepares to expand its national footprint.

Hon. CM Tamil Nadu, @mkstalin ji, visited our Delhi School today. It was an honour to show him around our school along with Hon CM Delhi @ArvindKejriwal ji. I'd like to thank CM @mkstalin for his gesture, which will encourage states to work together to improve education system. pic.twitter.com/Zyw3OWQHbN

— Manish Sisodia (@msisodia) April 1, 2022

A lot of bonhomie was evident between Kejriwal and Stalin in their public appearances, but senior leaders in the AAP continue to be tight-lipped about whether the two of them had any discussions on the subject of the opposition front.

In February, opposition leaders had said that the 10 March assembly election results would be the deciding factor in a non-BJP alliance taking shape. At that time, an AAP functionary had told ThePrint that the party would take a call on the proposed anti-BJP front after the February-March assembly polls.

‘Joining an opposition front does not help us in any way’

Mamata Banerjee has been working with other political leaders towards organising a convention of non-NDA regional parties, to eventually build a united opposition front to take on the BJP in upcoming state polls, and eventually, the 2024 general elections. However, both Kejriwal and this camp have kept distance from each other.

Now, with AAP winning the Punjab polls with a majority of 92 out of 117 seats, and becoming the only non-BJP, non-Congress party to lead governments in two states, it seems to see no reason to respond to overtures to join a bloc.

“Joining any opposition front does not help us in any way at this point,” a second senior AAP functionary said.

“We are emerging as a force much stronger than several other regional parties. As far as I know, there is going to be no decision on joining or not joining the opposition camp at least until the Gujarat and Himachal Pradesh polls are done,” the functionary added.

Senior AAP leader Kailash Gahlot also told ThePrint that “opposition unity” was not necessarily a panacea to India’s problems.

“India has witnessed several instances of opposition unity in the past, and even governments were formed, but that hardly led to any solutions concerning the larger problems of the masses — hunger, poverty, inequality, unemployment, etc,” he said.

A “clear vision”, he added, was more important than joining hands with other parties.

“The Aam Aadmi Party’s core agenda is to chalk out a strong plan for solving issues of the masses and making lives easier for people. We do not believe in investing too much on building up a united opposition bloc without a clear vision,” Gahlot said.

Kejriwal’s changing equation with non-BJP CMs

Kejriwal and Mamata Banerjee seemed to on the same page, and had supported each other on certain issues, but the TMC’s decision to contest the 2022 assembly polls in Goa — where the AAP was also a serious contestant — upset Kejriwal. While the AAP managed to win two seats in the coastal state, TMC won none. The AAP has now stepped into Banerjee’s turf, eyeing the West Bengal panchayat polls, which are likely to be held next year.

Another political leader who has been at the forefront of the united opposition initiative is Telangana CM K. Chandrashekar Rao.

When KCR visited Delhi last month, there were news reports suggesting he would meet Kejriwal. The meeting could not happen because his visit coincided with Kejriwal taking a week-long break after the election campaign. But, eventually, the AAP not only asserted its role as a new player in Telangana but also criticised Rao in public, calling him “Chhota Modi”.

(Edited by Asavari Singh)