In a major blow to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Rajya Sabha MP Ashok Kumar Mittal left the party and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). The special thing is that his decision came after Arvind Kejriwal had gone to his official residence just a few hours ago, whereas Kejriwal had been staying in his residence for a year.
Ashok Mittal had hosted Kejriwal and his family at his official residence at 2024 Ferozeshah Road. At that time, Kejriwal had taken this residence after resigning from the post of Chief Minister of Delhi. He stayed there for about a year and on April 24 shifted to the new government bungalow in Lodhi Estate, which has been allotted to him as the chief of a national party.
According to sources, just hours after Kejriwal vacated the residence, Mittal resigned from AAP and announced to join BJP. This development is being considered as a big political blow for the party leadership.
However, on April 2, Kejriwal removed Raghav Chadha from the post of Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha and handed over this responsibility to Ashok Mittal. According to sources, this move was seen as sidelining Chadha, which increased discontent. Apart from this, Swati Maliwal’s dispute with the party leadership was also already in the news. In May 2024, he had accused Kejriwal’s colleague Bibhav Kumar of assault, after which the distance between him and the leadership increased.
According to reports, to prevent a split in the party, Kejriwal had contacted the MPs and assured them of giving them opportunities in future. He had said that if anyone has any apprehension then he can resign from his post and next time he will be given the ticket again. A meeting on this issue was also proposed on Friday evening, but that meeting could not take place because even before that the MPs announced to leave the party.
This development is being seen as a major political crisis for AAP. The party, which has a strong presence in the Rajya Sabha, will now have to face defection not only at the legal level, but will also have to make a fresh strategy at the organizational and political level.
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