In a setback to the AAP, seven of its outgoing MLAs resigned from the party on Friday, with only five days to go for the <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/search/delhi-elections-articles" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Delhi Assembly polls</a>.
Sources said these MLAs were disgruntled after being denied tickets for the February 5 polls and were in touch with other parties.
Most of the MLAs shared their resignation letters on social media and slammed the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) over corruption and other issues.
Madan Lal, the outgoing MLA from Kasturba Nagar, said seven AAP legislators, including him, have quit the party's primary membership.
He said they have also sent their resignation letters to Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel.
Besides Lal, the AAP MLAs who have resigned are Bhavna Gaur (Palam), Naresh Yadav (Mehrauli), Rohit Mehraulia (Trilokpuri), Pawan Sharma (Adarsh Nagar), B S Joon (Bijwasan) and Rajesh Rishi (Janakpuri).
"The seven MLAs were anguished over being given a cold shoulder by the party and its leaders, despite working honestly for years. We will soon share our future strategy," Lal told PTI.
In her resignation letter addressed to party supremo Arvind Kejriwal, Gaur said, "I hereby resign from the primary membership of the Aam Aadmi Party as I have lost faith in you and the party." She is a two-time MLA from Palam.
Slamming these MLAs, AAP's national spokesperson Reena Gupta said a survey conducted by the party had revealed that all of them were unavailable to the public in their respective constituencies and that is why they were denied poll tickets.
"We did not give them tickets because of the unfavourable results of the survey. The fact that they are now attending another party after being refused tickets is not a huge deal. It is a part of politics," Gupta said.
Later, the AAP said in a statement that some MLAs were denied tickets for the February 5 polls, leading to "dissatisfaction". Over the last few weeks, under Kejriwal&rsquo;s leadership, the party has given poll tickets to ordinary individuals from humble backgrounds, the statement said.
The AAP has replaced 16 of its incumbent MLAs with new faces for the February 5 polls.
Yadav was initially given a ticket by the AAP from Mehrauli but was replaced by Mahender Chaudhary in December over his conviction in a Punjab court in a 2016 case of desecration of the Quran. Yadav has been the Mehrauli MLA since 2015.
Mehraulia, the AAP MLA from the Trilokpuri reserved seat, also shared his resignation letter on X.
"My relationship with such fake and opportunist people who only need a photo of Baba Saheb (Ambedkar), not his ideology, ends today. I resign from the primary membership of the AAP and all other posts," he said in a post on the microblogging platform.
Janakpuri MLA Rajesh Rishi was also among those who quit the Kejriwal-led party.
"Born out of the Anna Hazare movement and formed by Arvind Kejriwal to ensure a corruption-free Delhi, the AAP has become corrupt now, as a result of which I am resigning with a heavy heart from the primary membership and all other posts of the party," Rishi said on X.
The Delhi election is being seen as a referendum on the AAP's governance model and its leader, Kejriwal.
As the AAP battles to retain its stronghold for a third consecutive term, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is aiming for a comeback to power in the national capital after a gap of more than 25 years.
Rituraj Jha, the Kirari MLA who has also been denied a poll ticket this time by the AAP, slammed those who have quit the party, saying history will never forgive them.
Jha said <a href="https://www.mid-day.com/news/india-news/article/pm-modi-attacks-aap-chief-arvind-kejriwal-over-poisoning-yamuna-remark-ahead-of-delhi-assembly-elections-23474195" target="_blank" rel="none noopener">Kejriwal</a> gave him everything and allowed him to represent Kirari in the Assembly for 10 years.
Elections to the 70-member Delhi Assembly are scheduled be held on February 5, with the results set to be declared on February 8.
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