CHANDIGARH: In a big setback to the Aam Aadmi Party ahead of the Himachal Pradesh Assembly election, the party’s state president and two other leaders joined the BJP on Saturday.
AAP state chief Anup Kesari, organisation secretary Satish Thakur and Una district president Iqbal Singh said they were “disappointed” with Delhi Chief Minister and party supremo Arvind Kejriwal and accused him of “overlooking” party workers during the roadshow in Mandi and being “ignorant” of their issues.
The AAP leadership, however, claimed that the BJP inducting these leaders showed that the ruling party was “scared of the AAP’s growing influence in the hill state”.
Sources said Union Information and Broadcasting Minister Anurag Thakur on Friday night organised a meeting with the turncoat AAP leaders at the residence of BJP national president JP Nadda in Delhi, where they were inducted into the saffron party.
After joining the BJP, Kesari said that for the last eight years they had been working round-the-clock for AAP with “utmost dedication” to build the party in the state but Kejriwal overlooked them when he came for the roadshow in Mandi. “We were disappointed as only Kejriwal and Bhagwant Mann (Punjab CM) were the highlights of the roadshow and no one from the state were allowed on the vehicle. “We considered this as an insult and hence decided to quit the party over self-respect,” he said.
Attacking Kejriwal, Thakur said the AAP chief insulted his own party leaders during the roadshow in Mandi. “Kejriwal overlooked and insulted his own dedicated leaders and workers. During the roadshow in Mandi, except Kejriwal and Mann, no one was allowed on the vehicle,” he said.
In a tweet, Kejriwal said if the BJP had worked honestly for the people, it would neither have felt the need to take tainted people from other parties and nor to change its chief minister. Delhi Deputy Chief Ministerr Manish Sisodia claimed that the party had already decided to show the door to Kesari for his “inappropriate behaviour towards women”.
The roadshow that kicked off the campaign
AAP on Wednesday kick-started poll campaign in Himachal with a roadshow in Mandi where Kejriwal and Mann, sought “a chance” from the people