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Day after resignation, 8 AAP MLAs join BJP

A day after resigning from the AAP, eight MLAs joined the BJP here on Saturday. The move dealt a significant blow to the ruling AAP government, with a few days remaining for the Delhi Assembly elections. The resignations, which took...
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AAP MLAs who joined the BJP in the presence of Baijayant Panda and Virendra Sachdeva in New Delhi.
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A day after resigning from the AAP, eight MLAs joined the BJP here on Saturday.

The move dealt a significant blow to the ruling AAP government, with a few days remaining for the Delhi Assembly elections.

The resignations, which took place on Friday, were reportedly driven by accusations of corruption, disillusionment with the AAP’s changing ideology and the denial of tickets for the upcoming elections.

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The eight former AAP MLAs — 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) — submitted their resignation letters to the Delhi Assembly Speaker, formally giving up their membership in the House. They quit AAP after being denied tickets to contest the elections.

In addition to the MLAs, former AAP leader Vijender Garg and several other party members also switched allegiance to the saffron party. BJP national vice-president Baijayant Panda and Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva welcomed the new entrants to the party.

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The BJP also received another significant political shift after Sunil Chaddha, a three-time AAP councillor, and five former AAP councillors Kiran Chaddha, Sanjay Gupta, Raju Rana, Manisha Sanjay Gupta and Radha Raju Rana, along with social workers Karan Chhikara, Genda Swami, Deepak Swami and Balwan, joined the party along with hundreds of their supporters on Saturday.

Union Minister Harsh Malhotra welcomed them by presenting party stoles. The Minister said the resignation by AAP leaders reflected a broader loss of trust in Arvind Kejriwal’s leadership. This mass exodus indicated a growing disillusionment not only among AAP’s leadership but also among the party’s supporters.

Malhotra emphasized that anyone in Delhi who truly seeks development and wants the benefits of Central Government schemes to reach the people would align with the BJP.

“Delhi is witnessing a phase of transformation and many more such changes are expected in near future,” he said.

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