13 Delhi councillors leave AAP, float new party to focus on civic issues
In a major jolt to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) months after it lost control of the Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD), 13 of its councillors resigned from the party on Saturday and announced the formation of a new political outfit — Indraprastha Vikas Party (IVP).
The breakaway faction cited internal dysfunction, lack of development, and frustration over centralised control as key reasons behind the split.
With the exit of 13 councillors, AAP’s tally in the 250-member MCD has dipped from 113 to 100. The BJP now holds the largest bloc with 117 seats, while the Congress maintains a minor presence with eight councillors.
Notably, the anti-defection law does not apply to municipal bodies, meaning the breakaway councillors face no legal disqualification.
Senior councillor Mukesh Goyal, who will lead the new party, accused AAP of neglecting civic issues since the last election. “For over two years, there has been no real development on the ground. Councillors were denied funds and caught in the crossfire of internal power struggles,” Goyal said, adding that the new outfit will remain solely focus on MCD affairs and has no plans to contest at the state-level.
Among the prominent names joining the IVP are veteran municipal leader Hemchand Goyal, and former AAP councillors Dinesh Bharadwaj, Himani Jain, Usha Sharma, Sahib Kumar, Rakhi Kumar, Ashok Pandey, Rajesh Kumar and Anil Rana.
Delhi Mayor Sardar Raja Iqbal Singh lashed out at AAP leadership, alleging that rampant corruption and autocratic functioning had alienated the elected councillors.
“Despite having three mayors in two years, AAP failed to run the House or initiate any meaningful civic work. Over Rs 500 crore in councillor funds remained frozen in the mayor’s account, while development came to a standstill,” the BJP leader said.
AAP, in its official response, claimed that the defection was orchestrated by the BJP in a calculated “horse-trading operation”.
“Each councillor was offered Rs 5 crore to defect. This is not an organic split—it is a full-fledged BJP operation. Since failing to gain control of the MCD through elections, the BJP has been engineering defections to manipulate civic governance,” AAP said.
The party also pointed to the BJP’s failure to secure a majority in the MCD’s standing and ward committees, suggesting that the defections were aimed at consolidating control through backdoor tactics.
Reacting to the development, Delhi Congress president Devender Yadav said the split exposes AAP’s weakening grip on governance.
“This is an existential crisis for AAP, born out of its own corruption and broken promises. Kejriwal’s leadership has failed both in the Assembly and the MCD,” Yadav said.
