Sixteen councillors from the Indraprastha Vikas Party, a breakaway faction of AAP, have joined the BJP in Delhi. The switch, including party founder Mukesh Goel, comes ahead of crucial elections for the MCD standing committee later this month.
Sixteen councillors from Indraprastha Vikas Party, a breakaway party from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), on Friday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party in the presence of Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and Delhi BJP chief Harsh Malhotra. The party switch comes ahead of elections for the vacant posts in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) standing committee later this month.
BJP Welcomes New Members
The BJP shared the update in an X post, stating, “Inspired by the successful leadership of the country’s esteemed Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji and the works undertaken by him in the country and Delhi, as well as motivated by the public welfare initiatives carried out by the Delhi government and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi under the guidance of the Honorable Chief Minister Rekha Gupta Ji, 16 members of the Indraprastha Vikas Party–formed after breaking away from the Aam Aadmi Party–have today joined the Bharatiya Janata Party as members. All these members are also municipal councillors from different wards of Delhi.”
“State President Harsh Malhotra Ji administered the BJP membership to all the members and welcomed everyone into the BJP family. The BJP organisation congratulated all the newly joined members and expressed confidence that their association will further strengthen public service and the organisation,” the X post read.
The Breakaway Party’s Origins
The 16 councillors include Indraprastha Vikas Party founder Mukesh Goel. Last year on May 18, 15 councillors in the MCD resigned from the AAP’s membership and announced the formation of a new party.
The councillors, led by Himani Jain and Mukesh Goel, flagged internal conflicts behind their resignation and formed a new political party named the “Indraprastha Vikas Party.” Himani Jain had said, “We have formed a new party because our ideology is to work for the development of Delhi. We will support the party which will work for the development of Delhi,” while Mukesh Goel cited “internal conflicts” in the AAP camp as the reason for forming the party. (ANI)
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