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Kailash Gahlot joins BJP day after quitting AAP, Delhi’s council of ministers
Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal downplayed the defection months before polls are due in Delhi early next year, saying Kailash Gahlot was free to go and join any party
Former minister Kailash Gahlot joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday a day after quitting the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Delhi’s council of ministers.
Union minister Manohar Lal Khattar, who was present along with Delhi BJP election in charge Baijayant Panda and local unit chief Virendra Sachdeva at the joining ceremony, said Gahlot’s induction is a turning point in the Capital’s politics as he is a former senior minister. “I am sure that you must have seen the work of Prime Minister [Narendra] Modi and the BJP before deciding to join. I welcome you to the party,” he told Gahlot.
AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal downplayed the defection months before polls are due in Delhi early next year. “He is free to go and join any party,” said Kejriwal. He spoke about development works the AAP has undertaken in Delhi’s rural belt.
The AAP separately announced Raghuvinder Shokeen, who represents the Nangloi Jat assembly constituency, will be inducted into the council of ministers in Gahlot’s place.
In his resignation letter to Kejriwal, Gahlot cited “grave challenges” the party faces from within, the “embarrassing controversies” it was embroiled in, and “unfilled promises”. He argued that real progress for Delhi cannot happen if the government spends the majority of its time fighting the Union government.
Gahlot is a Jat leader from Najafgarh, which he represents in the Delhi assembly. He has held important departments such as transport, home, administrative reforms, women and child development, and information technology.
In April, minister Raaj Kumar Anand quit the AAP and joined the BJP. AAP lawmaker Rajendra Pal Gautam resigned from the party and joined the Congress in September.
The BJP welcomed Gahlot’s resignation, calling it a brave step forward. It claimed that the resignation reinforces BJP’s allegations against the Delhi government. The AAP alleged central agencies such as the Income Tax Department and the Enforcement Directorate pressured Gahlot, leaving him no option but to join the BJP.
Reports about differences between Gahlot and the AAP surfaced in August following the controversy over flag hoisting on August 15 when the then chief minister Kejriwal was in prison in connection with the excise policy case. Kejriwal nominated Atishi, who has since succeeded him as the chief minister, to hoist the flag. Lieutenant governor VK Saxena rejected the proposal and nominated Gahlot to unfurl the tricolour.
In his letter to Kejriwal, Gahlot said the party was facing “embarrassing and awkward” controversies such as “Sheeshmahal”, a reference to the row over renovations at the Delhi chief minister’s official residence. He added that was now making everyone doubt whether the party still believed in the common man.
The BJP claimed that the Delhi government spent crores of public money on renovations at the residence.
Gahlot alleged the AAP was busy fighting for its agenda which has “crippled the delivery of even basic services in Delhi” instead of fighting for the people’s rights. He questioned the party’s commitment to fulfilling promises, including cleaning the Yamuna. “Political ambitions have overtaken AAP’s commitment towards people leaving many promises unfulfilled. Take the example of the Yamuna, which we had promised to transform into a clean river...but now the Yamuna is perhaps even more polluted than ever.”
