Denied election tickets, all 8 MLAs who left AAP join BJP four days before voting

Eight Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) sitting MLAs, who resigned from the party after being denied tickets to contest the Delhi election 2025, have joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The sitting MLAs have joined the BJP just four days before Delhi goes to the polls. Voting in Delhi election 2025 is scheduled for February 5.

All the eight MLAs who resigned from the primary membership of the Aam Aadmi Party on Friday cited reasons such as alleged corruption and the Arvind Kejriwal-led party's deviation from its ideology.

The MLAs who have joined the saffron party are Vandana Gaur from Palam seat, Rohit Mehraulia from Trilokpuri constituency, Girish Soni from Madipur, Madan Lal from Kasturba Nagar, Rajesh Rishi from Uttam Nagar seat, BS Joon of Bijwasan seat, Naresh Yadav from Mehrauli constituency and Pawan Sharma from Adarsh Nagar Assembly seat.

After resigning from AAP, they stated that they had also submitted their resignation letters to the Assembly Speaker, formally giving up their membership in the House. Also Read | ‘Lost faith in Arvind Kejriwal’: 7 AAP MLAs resign days ahead of Delhi Polls, cite ‘deviation from honest ideology’

Former AAP MLA Vijender Garg and several other leaders of the Kejriwal-led party, too, joined the saffron outfit in the presence of Baijayant Panda, its national vice-president and the in-charge of the Delhi BJP, and state president Virendra Sachdeva.

Welcoming the MLAs and leaders to the BJP, Panda said it is a "historic" day as they have gotten rid of "AAPda" (disaster) and hoped that after the February 5 polls, Delhi too will be freed from it.

The 70-member Delhi Assembly is scheduled to go to polls on February 5, with the results set to be declared on February 8.

(With agency inputs)