AAP suspends three MCD councillors amid fresh defections to BJP

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday suspended three Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) councillors with immediate effect.

The suspension comes just a day after party councillor Vikas Tank joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).

In a brief announcement, Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj said the party had suspended Nirmala Devi (Sharma), Krishna Devi Raghav and Sultana Abad.

The statement did not specify the reasons for the suspension.

Suspension Comes After Vikas Tank Joins BJP

The action comes a day after Vikas Tank, AAP councillor from Civil Lines and chairman of the City-Sadar Paharganj Zone, joined the BJP.

Tank joined the party in the presence of Delhi BJP president Harsh Malhotra, Chandni Chowk MP Praveen Khandelwal, and BJP media department head Praveen Shankar Kapoor.

BJP Strengthens Position In MCD

Following Tank’s induction, the BJP’s strength in the MCD House has risen to 140 councillors.

The BJP had won 104 of the 250 wards in the December 2022 MCD elections, while the AAP secured 134 wards, ending the BJP’s three-term control of the civic body.

BJP, Tank Target AAP

Welcoming Tank into the party, Harsh Malhotra said many opposition councillors were joining the BJP after being inspired by Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s leadership and the development work being carried out by the Delhi government under Chief Minister Rekha Gupta.

After joining the BJP, Tank said, “I am pleased to become a member of the big BJP family. When the AAP was ruling in Delhi, it did nothing for the welfare of the people.”

He also alleged that the AAP failed to fulfil its promises of removing garbage dumps and providing relief from house tax, and claimed that several councillors had left the party because the leadership did not address their concerns.