In a significant political development, eight Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs resigned from the party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday, just days before the Delhi Assembly elections.
The legislators who made the switch include Vandana Gaur (Palam), Rohit Mehraulia (Trilokpuri), Girish Soni (Madipur), Madan Lal (Kasturba Nagar), Rajesh Rishi (Uttam Nagar), BS Joon (Bijwasan), Naresh Yadav (Mehrauli), and Pawan Sharma (Adarsh Nagar).
Prominent Personalities are joining BJP. @PandaJay @Virend_Sachdeva https://t.co/sl6uHjv4Dy
— BJP Delhi (@BJP4Delhi) February 1, 2025
Notably, seven of these eight MLAs were denied AAP tickets for the upcoming elections, leading to reported dissatisfaction within the party ranks. The exception, Mehrauli MLA Naresh Yadav, initially received a ticket but returned it following allegations related to the Punjab Quran sacrilege case, after which AAP replaced him with Mahender Chaudhary. Yadav officially resigned from AAP on Friday.
Resignations and Statements
Following their resignations, the former AAP members submitted their letters to the Assembly Speaker, formally relinquishing their membership. They joined the BJP in the presence of the party’s national vice-president Baijayant Panda and Delhi unit chief Virendraa Sachdeva.
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Baijayant Panda hailed the development as a “historic” moment, stating that the defecting leaders had freed themselves from “AAPda” (disaster). He expressed confidence that Delhi, too, would soon be free from AAP rule following the February 5 elections.
Discontent Within AAP
Several of the defectors openly voiced their dissatisfaction with the AAP leadership. Palam MLA Bhawna Gaur, in her resignation letter to AAP national convenor Arvind Kejriwal, stated that she had lost faith in both him and the party. Similarly, Kasturba Nagar MLA Madan Lal echoed similar sentiments, formally ending his association with AAP.
AAP’s Candidate List for the Delhi Elections
Despite the setback, AAP has announced its candidates for the affected constituencies:
– Mukesh Goel (Adarsh Nagar)
– Pravin Kumar (Janakpuri)
– Surendra Bhardwaj (Bijwasan)
– Joginder Solanki (Palam)
– Ramesh Pehlwan (Kasturba Nagar)
– Anjana Parcha (Trilokpuri)
AAP, which is vying for a third consecutive term in Delhi, faces a formidable challenge from the BJP, which has not been in power in the capital for the last 27 years. The Congress remains the third major contender in the electoral race.
The highly anticipated Delhi Assembly elections are scheduled for February 5, with vote counting set to take place on February 8.
