Having witnessed a clean sweep by Aam Admi Party (AAP) in the recent elections in the neighbouring Punjab, the list of those seeking to join the party in Jammu and Kashmir is stretching long.
Many former ministers, legislators, retired bureaucrats and businessmen are making a beeline to Delhi or sending feelers to join the party that is gradually gaining ground not only in the Hindu dominated Jammu but also in the Muslim majority Kashmir valley.
AAP has become a talking point here after the BJP government has announced that the assembly elections in J&K will be held after delimitation of constituencies.
The party supremo and Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal has reportedly put their joining on hold as he wants to be doubly sure of antecedents of those keen to join his party. He has constituted a committee that was screening antecedents of those wishing to join AAP. Kejriwal and his aides were carefully treading here as J&K was earlier identified as most corrupt and various politicians in the valley had a soft corner for terrorists and anti-national elements.
There were reports that Kejriwal’s confident Durgesh Pathak has identified some former legislators, bureaucrats, police officers and media persons who might join the party in the near future.
Political observers are keeping their fingers crossed on the choice of faces by Kejriwal as joining of some of the probables whose names are circulating might turn the scenario to the proverbial “old wine in new bottle”.
Some senior leaders of the Panthers Party, who recently had heated arguments with the party chief Bhim Singh, are learnt to be frantically trying to join the AAP.
Harshdev Singh, who was education minister from the Panthers Party in the Congress–PDP government, on Thursday suddenly turned a well-wisher of Kejriwal and tweeted; “The attack on Delhi CM @ArvindKejriwal’s house by BJP is the most condemnable and abhorrable act of cowardice. BJP shall never succeed in its nefarious designs of crushing the voices of sanity. Remember people will bounce back and appropriately respond at the right time”.
Balwant Singh Mankotia, a former MLA who has quit the Panthers Party, was reportedly also in the queue to join Kejriwal.
A couple of other former ministers and legislators who have come to be identified as rolling stones as they were always looking for green pastures for their political survival were now headed towards the AAP.
Kejriwal is expected to address a rally here in April.
Name of a former minister in the Congress and National Conference governments is in circulation. It is being said that he might also take some panchayat members of the border area with him to the AAP.