New Delhi, Apr 25: Ahead of the election of the mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), AAP councilor Sunita joined the BJP on Monday. Welcoming Dwarka C ward councilor Sunita into the party fold, Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva alleged that common volunteers of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) were treated like “bonded laborers”.

 

 

 

AAP leader Durgesh Pathak alleged that the BJP was offering crores of rupees to party councilors to switch sides ahead of the mayoral election. The elections for the posts of MCD mayor and deputy mayor will be held on April 26. The AAP councilor joining the BJP will, however, have little impact on the mayoral poll. The AAP defeated the BJP in the MCD elections in December 2022, winning 134 wards.

 

 

 

The BJP managed to register victories in 104 of the 250 wards. Sunita is the second AAP councilor to join the BJP. Earlier, Pawan Sehrawat from the Bawana ward joined the BJP in February this year. Apart from Sunita, former councilor Ram Niwas from the AAP also joined the BJP. West Delhi BJP MP Parvesh Verma alleged that many other AAP leaders are feeling “suffocated” and expected to soon join the BJP. Sunita said she had close ties with the BJP, particularly Verma, and expressed her desire to work hard to strengthen the BJP. Pathak, who is in charge of MCD affairs of AAP, said the BJP resorted to “cheap politics” and alleged its only motive was to buy councilors by “hook or by crook”. “BJP is offering crores of rupees to councilors to switch sides. MCD was a big source of BJP’s loot and that’s why they are restless after losing the MCD polls,” charged Pathak. He expressed confidence that the AAP will give a befitting reply to BJP in the upcoming elections and accused the saffron party of not accepting the mandate of the Delhi people and still trying to buy councilors to “usurp” power in the civic body.

 

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Delhi BJP spokesperson Praveen Shankar Kapoor hit back, saying Pathak should control “growing corruption” in the AAP otherwise soon a large number of its councilors and senior leaders may quit the party.