More may follow, says BJP as AAP councillor switches sides ahead of Delhi mayoral polls

AAP councillor Sunita has joined the BJP, two days before the MCD mayoral polls.

Two days before the mayoral polls in Delhi, the Bharatiya Janata Party on Monday said that Aam Aadmi Party councillor from Dwarka-C ward, Sunita, has joined its ranks.

The announcement drew a sharp response from AAP, with its Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) in-charge Durgesh Pathak accusing the BJP of poaching the party’s councillors by “offering crores of rupees”.

Hinting at the possibility of more councillors switching parties, a Delhi BJP functionary said, “Two-three councillors are in touch, let’s see what happens.” He, however, refused to divulge more.

Ms. Sunita is the second AAP councillor elected in the December 2022 civic polls to switch sides, after Pawan Sehrawat from Bawana joined the BJP on February 24.

The MCD poll results on December 7 last year saw AAP emerge victorious, winning 134 out of the 250 wards, against the BJP’s 104. Subsequently, an independent candidate and two AAP councillors joined the BJP, increasing its tally in the MCD House to 107.

However, a senior leader of the Delhi BJP said it is unlikely to bridge this “huge gap”.

“We still have only 107 councillors. It is not possible that 25-30 AAP councillors join us a day before the [mayoral] polls,” he added.