Delhi BJP, AAP cross swords after 15 councillors quit Kejriwal’s party

Amid allegations of horse trading, the ruling BJP and Opposition Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday were involved in a spat over 15 councillors’ decision to leave the outfit led by Arvind Kejriwal and form their own party.

AAP leader Priyanka Kakkar alleged the BJP offered up to Rs 5 crore each to AAP councillors to break them away ahead of the mayor elections.

Accusing the BJP of using money power to acquire the required numbers to gain majority in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi, Kakkar said the BJP is trying to buy councillors, because it still does not have enough members to form a standing committee or a ward committee.

Countering her claim, Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said it is unfortunate that the defeated and disillusioned leaders of the AAP are blaming the BJP for the major split in their municipal corporation wing.

He said that whether in the press conference announcing their departure or in their resignation letters, the councillors, who left AAP to form a separate party, have clearly stated that since the 2022 elections, AAP leaders have neither focused on running the municipal administration nor tried to coordinate with their councillors.

“In this context, it is clear that the BJP has no involvement,” he said.

The Delhi BJP President added that due to his obstinate approach, Kejriwal never allowed the formation of a Standing Committee in the Municipal Corporation and never engaged in dialogue with his councillors.

“As a result, even after more than half of their current tenure has passed, AAP councillors have been unable to initiate any development work,” he said.

Sachdeva further said that faced with stalled development and fearful of facing the public in the upcoming elections, 15 AAP councillors decided to form their own party.

He said that instead of blaming the BJP for their internal collapse, AAP leaders should introspect.

These 15 councillors accusing their party leadership of neglect are not the first ones. Previously, more than 15 MLAs, including three ministers, over 10 councillors, and one Rajya Sabha MP, have accused Kejriwal of running the party without coordination and thereby leading it towards destruction, he said.

Fifteen municipal councillors in Delhi resigned from the AAP on Saturday and announced the formation of a separate political party named the Indraprastha Vikas Party.

The newly-formed front will be led by Hemchand Goel, with prominent former AAP leaders such as Mukesh Goel, Himani Jain, Devindra Kumar, Rajesh Kumar Ladi, Suman Anil Rana, Dinesh Bhardwaj, Runakshi Sharma, Manisha, Sahib Kumar, Rakhi Yadav, Usha Sharma, and Ashok Pandey playing key roles in the outfit.