Sat Feb 01 19:58:27 UTC 2025: ## Eight AAP MLAs Defect to BJP Ahead of Delhi Assembly Polls
**New Delhi, February 2, 2025** – Just four days before the Delhi Assembly elections, eight sitting Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLAs defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), citing disillusionment with the AAP’s alleged deviation from its founding principles and accusations of corruption.
The MLAs, including Vandana Gaur (Palam), Rohit Mehraulia (Trilokpuri), and six others, resigned from the AAP on Friday and submitted their resignations to the Assembly speaker, relinquishing their seats. They joined the BJP in the presence of national vice-president Baijayant Panda and Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva.
Mr. Panda hailed the defections as a “historic” event, declaring that the new members had eliminated the “AAP-da” (disaster). The BJP welcomed the former AAP members.
The AAP responded by stating that the party remains popular and that the defections were a result of some MLAs being denied tickets in the upcoming election. The party also accused the BJP of actively courting denied AAP candidates with promises of positions and other incentives. The situation underscores the intense political maneuvering in the lead-up to the crucial Delhi Assembly polls.
First Piper 