Former Deputy Speaker and three-time MLA Amrish Singh Gautam left the Delhi Congress on Monday to join the Delhi BJP just weeks ahead of the municipal elections on April 23.
Considered an influential Dalit leader and a strongman in areas such as Patparganj, Kondli and Ashok Nagar, Mr. Gautam is expected to give a major boost to the BJP’s chances in the upcoming polls. The senior leader said he was joining the BJP due to “Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision”.
‘Felt suffocated’
“I have joined the BJP because I believe in PM Modi’s ‘ sabka saath, sabka vikas ’ motto. The Congress was not paying attention to the development of my area in which I spent a long period despite feeling suffocated. But I found that the upcoming polls are an opportunity to connect Delhi with the main stream of national development,” said the three-time MLA from east Delhi — twice from Patparganj and once from Kondli.
“I have given my life to public service as a Congress worker but for the last few years I have felt that the Congress is deviating from its agenda of service to all while the BJP has shown a new resolve to encourage nationalism and for empowerment of poor,” Mr. Gautam added.
Mr. Gautam’s son Avinash Singh was also brough into the party fold at a ceremony at the BJP’s State headquarters on Pant Marg. BJP national vice-president and MP Vinay Sahashrabuddhe and Leader of the Opposition in the Delhi Assembly Vijender Gupta were at the event.
Son wanted ticket: Cong
According to the Congress, the former MLA wanted his son to be given a ticket from a ward in the Kondli Assembly constituency. “They left the party when the ticket was given to a long-time worker instead,” alleged the party.
BJP sources have claimed that Mr. Gautam may be a potential candidate for an Assembly election while his son was seen as a young face for the party’s SC Cell.
Mr. Sahashrabuddhe said the BJP was “a democratic party where all members are given an opportunity to present their views and politically progress” and assured Mr. Gautam of getting “full respect and opportunity” to work in the BJP’s organizational structure.
Mr. Gupta called Mr. Gautam “a recognised leader of the Dalits in Delhi” and added that the party now hoped to get “his invaluable support in the expansion of the BJP” in the Capital.
