AAP joins Opposition Nov 8 protest over note ban

New Delhi: Despite having fielded candidates in Gujarat Assembly polls, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) is now joining the grand Opposition protest against demonetisation on November 8. The AAP will mark November 8, the day demonetisation was announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi in 2016, as “Dhokha Divas” along with other Opposition parties that are holding “Black Day” and “Akrosh Divas”.

Almost all Opposition parties have decided to organise separate protests on demonetisation anniversary on November 8.

Sources told this newspaper that the AAP has been warming up to the idea of a joining a joint Opposition, but it was the Congress which was still distrustful of the other party and continued to call it the BJP’s B-Team.

However, senior leaders like Sharad Yadav were acting as a go-between for the two parties and efforts were on to induct the AAP into the joint Opposition fold after elections in Himachal Pradesh and Gujarat.

The Congress, which is working hard to stitch together a mega alliance of all anti-BJP forces in Gujarat, however, seems to be jittery over the AAP’s decision to contest 11 seats in the state.

Congress sources said that the party suspects that the AAP was again working as a “B-team” of the BJP by contesting the seats where the BJP was on a weak wicket and was likely to help the ruling party emerge victorious in these places.  

Another factor which was playing on Congress minds was that the AAP is the chief Opposition in Punjab and was in a direct fight with it in Delhi, the sources added. The AAP, however, denied Congress charges.

“We are not BJP’s B-team,” AAP Gujarat coordinator Harshil Nayak said. “It makes no sense to contest on all the seats and reduce the anti-BJP votes where the party does not have any stronghold”.