Aam Aadmi Party MLA from Gandhi Nagar Anil Bajpai Friday joined the BJP, making him the second lawmaker from the party to join the saffron fold in the last two months.
The move comes at a time when AAP leaders, including Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, have accused the BJP of indulging in horse trading. Bajpai joined the BJP in the presence of party national vice-president and Delhi BJP in-charge Shyam Jaju and Union minister Vijay Goel at the Delhi unit office here.
"I worked with the AAP for many years. I was hurt by the lack of respect and the peculiar functioning of the party. It has detracted from its original path," he said. Reacting to the development, senior AAP leader Gopal Rai said that his party has for sometime been accusing the BJP of trying to "buy" its MLAs.
"As far as Bajpai is concerned, no person would say that they have taken money and going to another party, they would be finding faults within the party. Bajpai had himself come from the Congress, so what issue did he have from the alliance talks that were going on?" he said. Rai added that the BJP did not trust its own MPs and hence, was indulging in horse-trading.
"They (BJP) want to come to power in any way possible," he said.
On Wednesday, Sisodia had alleged that the BJP had offered Rs 10 crore each to seven AAP MLAs to switch sides.Bajpai, however, denied having taken any money for joining the BJP and said Kejriwal was in the habit of making allegations and then tendering apologies.
Former Delhi BJP president and Union minister Goel had Thursday claimed that 14 AAP MLAs were in touch with his party and wanted to quit the AAP due to "frustration and humiliation".Three other AAP leaders, Gaurav Sharma, Vandana Rani and Sanjay Jain, also joined the BJP along with Bajpai. Sharma and Rani had contested municipal polls in 2017 as AAP candidates. Sitting AAP MP from Punjab Harinder Singh Khalsa, who was suspended from the party, had joined the BJP in March.
The BJP has also got a unique ally in rebel AAP MLA Kapil Mishra, who Thursday announced a week-long campaign to garner support for the BJP candidates on all seven Lok Sabha seats in Delhi.
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