Over 20 BJP and 15 Congress ward-level leaders joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) party on Wednesday.
A formal welcome was organised by the AAP, where the former BJP members removed their saffron sashes and caps, and donned the ‘aam aadmi’ gear.
‘Disappointed with BJP’
AAP leaders said that these new members were “disappointed” with the choice of candidates picked by the BJP and the Congress for the upcoming municipal polls on April 23.
“We hope that with your support, we will be able to continue our work of making a difference to the various aspects of the city’s developments,” said senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh.
Along with the 35 local leaders, several volunteers and representatives from both Congress and BJP’s youth and women’s wing also joined the AAP.
“I was feeling suffocated in the BJP. I have given many years to the party but there was no democracy in it. I had started feeling like all the work that I had done for the people in my area and all that I wanted to do was being overlooked. They do not care for the people of Delhi,” said Sushila Bagri, BJP’s sitting councillor from Sultanpuri (East).
AAP spokesperson Dilip Pandey said these leaders and volunteers had dedicated their lives to the BJP but had been disillusioned by the party’s disregard for them and Delhiites.
Mr. Pandey said that the new members have claimed that the BJP was openly selling tickets for the polls
“They have shown approval of the clean and people-centric politics that the AAP has been practising. Many told us that they could no longer cheat people and themselves by continuing in the BJP and the Congress,” Mr. Pandey added.
Some of the leaders who were inducted in the AAP were, Sombir, youth wing chairperson (BJP), Manju Kumar, women’s wing member (BJP), Deepak Joshi, help desk member (Congress), Kanhaiya Lal (BJP).
