New Delhi:
Two months after he announced taking the electoral route, Arvind Kejriwal will announce the name of his political party today. The formal launch of the party is at Jantar Mantar on Monday. The activist-turned-politician and his colleagues are meeting in Delhi today to ratify the name and elect the decision-making body of the party.
"Today common man has gathered here and whosoever has gathered here is a common man and this common man is going to its party... Almost 350 people will gather and form the party... Today we will form a national council... The main vision of this party is true democracy," Mr Kejriwal said today.
Mr Kejriwal's decision to enter politics led to a parting of ways with his mentor, Anna Hazare. The activist-turned-politician had earlier said that his group will not use 'India Against Corruption' (IAC) as its name after the formation of his political party on November 26. Anna had laid claim to that name.
The new party is likely to heavily borrow from the Constitution for framing its preamble, a key member of Mr Kejriwal's team had said on Thursday.
"Wednesday night, we were writing the objectives of the new party and I said it will be great if we can base it on the preamble of the Indian Constitution. If we can live up to the Constitution there is nothing like that. We have a ready preamble there," Yogendra Yadav, member of core team of Kejriwal's upcoming party, had said.
He said the Constitution has always inspired them and therefore they are announcing the party on November 26, the day it was adopted in 1949.
Mr Kejriwal's decision to launch what he describes as "a political alternative" was announced in August, when the India Against Corruption movement that Anna and he had headlined appeared to be dissipating in public. Mr Kejriwal was at the time on a six-day fast in Delhi. The crowds at his base camp were thin. The government ignored him, refusing to urge him to eat, or to talk about when the Lokpal bill - named for the new anti-graft body it births- would be cleared as law. It has passed in the Lok Sabha, but has been stalled in the Rajya Sabha.