Old members in Anna Hazare’s new team

While Arvind Kejriwal takes political leaders head on, Anna Hazare is reconstituting his core team which will have a sizeable number of members from his former team.

Waterman Rajendra Singh and RTI activist from Assam Akhil Gogoi are some of the erstwhile Team Anna members who will be part of the new apolitical movement that Hazare will be launching on January 30.

Hazare has also expressed his desire to get former army chief VK Singh on board.

Former top police officer and Team Anna member Kiran Bedi has already joined forces with Hazare and was present at Ralegan Siddhi on Friday, along with environmentalist Vishwambhar Chowdhury and former bureaucrat Avinash Dharmadhikari to finalise names for the new core committee.

Rajendra Singh had left Team Anna complaining against the behaviour of Kejriwal and others, while Gogoi had expressed his displeasure over Kejriwal’s decision to enter electoral politics.

The name of activist Medha Patkar has also been suggested for the new core team along with social workers Dr Prakash Amte and Dr Abhay Bang from Maharashtra.

Hazare and Vishwambhar Chowdhury told DNA that they have finalised names of around 80 people who, they think, should be part of the new core team and the new working team for the movement. “Along with Jan Lokpal, we would be taking up many other issues. We will fight for the cause of the farmers and other sections of the society,” Chowdhury said.