On the eve of Delhi’s pivotal civic by‑elections, senior Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) veteran Rajesh Gupta officially joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday. The transfer took place in the company of Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, who formally welcomed the former MLA.
During the hand‑over, Gupta slammed AAP national convenor and former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, arguing that treating workers as “use and throw” was the main factor behind the party’s decline. The criticism came as Gupta recalled the effort he put into building AAP and the subsequent mistreatment he suffered at Kejriwal’s hands. He spoke emotionally about the early enthusiasm of many prominent supporters who joined Kejriwal’s movement, only to feel betrayed as they gradually left. “One by one, they all chose to leave him. Today, unfortunately, I have also joined that list,” he said.
Gupta also alleged that AAP had issued a nomination to a candidate in the Ashok Vihar ward who had already received a notice from the party itself.
In a ceremony that included MLA Rajkumar Bhatia and media head Praveen Shankar Kapoor, Sachdeva presented Gupta with the traditional party stole, underscoring that Gupta had earned a reputation as a reliable and independent MLA—an achievement that Kejriwal, according to the BJP chief, never properly acknowledged.
Sachdeva urged a closer look at Kejriwal’s sudden disappearance from Delhi and the circumstances surrounding his exit. He blamed AAP for dragging the city into a dire position over the last twelve years, a burden that has now fallen on the successor government. The BJP, he added, is working to ease this load, but Kejriwal—who once saw himself as “Delhi’s son”—has retreating, revealing the city’s true needs.
Speaking about AAP’s current shortcomings, Sachdeva linked them to the party’s own performance over the decade. He noted that with Kejriwal and Sisodia absent, former chief minister Atishi and Gopal Rai serve as mere “special appearances” for the party in Delhi. “Just as Aurangzeb plundered Delhi, Kejriwal, Sisodia and other senior AAP leaders have also harmed the city. After looting and indulging in corruption, AAP leaders are now comfortably settled in Punjab,” he added.
Gupta’s switch to BJP comes one day before the municipal by‑elections. Fifty‑three candidates are vying for twelve seats, with the BJP already holding nine of the vacant wards. These contests are particularly significant for the BJP, marking the first major test in the city since the party returned to power after a 27‑year hiatus in the February Assembly elections. Many analysts view the by‑elections as a de‑facto referendum on Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s nine‑month performance. rch/dan
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