NEW DELHI: In a setback for AAP ahead of the forthcoming MCD mayoral election, three council members defected to the BJP on Saturday, in the presence of Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva.
The council members who joined the saffron party are Anita Basoya (Andrews Ganj), Nikhil Chaprana (Hari Nagar) and Dharamvir (R K Puram).
Talking about the mayoral polls , the Delhi BJP chief said that Delhi will achieve a “triple engine” administration – at Central, Assembly and municipal levels – to develop it as the capital aligned with Prime Minister Narendra Modi‘s ‘Viksit Bharat’ vision.
The council members, according to Sachdeva, joined the BJP with the aim of transforming Delhi into a clean and attractive city.
Sachdeva welcomed the three members during a press conference. In the briefing, he also responded to a reporter’s query about formation of state government in Delhi for which he said, “the process is on-going and I believe we’ll have good news to share in 1-2 days.”
This comes after its recent decisive victory in the Assembly elections during which the party secured 48 out of 70 Assembly seats, removing AAP from power after ten years.
The mayoral election is set for April. In the previous election in November 2024, AAP won by a margin of three votes.
The electorate for mayor and deputy mayor elections includes seven Lok Sabha MPs (all BJP), three Rajya Sabha MPs (all AAP), 14 nominated MLAs, and council members.
The BJP’s numerical strength now surpasses AAP’s following the addition of these three council members.
BJP officials indicated that their party will have 10 MLAs nominated to the MCD, while AAP will receive four nominations for the civic body.
The February 5 Assembly elections resulted in eight BJP council members and three AAP council members securing assembly seats.