Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan Launch Swaraj India Party

Swaraj Abhiyan leaders, though, have remained mum on whether the party will fight the upcoming polls in five states.

Arvind Kejriwal, Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan. (Photo: The Quint)

Former AAP leaders Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan on Sunday announced the formation of their new political outfit, which has been named Swaraj India Party.

On 31 July, addressing the concluding session of a two-day Swaraj Abhiyan national convention in Delhi, Yadav had announced plans to the launch a political party by 2 October to provide an "alternative political vehicle".

Later, a committee was formed to look into the details of forming the new outfit.

Yadav had said:

We were never secretive about going political. A decision to launch a political party was taken with nearly 93 percent of the delegates at the convention supporting it.

Yadav, however, had clarified that Swaraj Abhiyan would continue to exist even after the political party was launched. The two outfits, he had said, would function independently.

Swaraj Abhiyan leaders, though, have parried questions on whether the party will contest the assembly elections in five states, including Punjab, which are going to polls next year.

Yadav and Bhushan were sacked from the Aam Aadmi Party in April last year for "anti-party" activities. They had hit out at AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal questioning his "supremo style of working" and "the lack of transparency" in the party.