New Delhi:

Delhi’s new Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s old posts on social media in which she took swipes at former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal are being cited by her followers as well as critics since Wednesday evening, when the confirmation of her name for the top post came.

While supporters of Ms Gupta, 50, a first-time MLA from the BJP, shared the old posts to mock Mr Kejriwal’s defeat in the Delhi election after the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) power run of 10 years, the supporters of the AAP chief drew attention to what they described as inappropriate language used by Ms Gupta in attacking her political rival.

BJP supporters have indicated on social media that Ms Gupta’s old posts showed she has been a fierce and consistent critic of Mr Kejriwal and the previous AAP government in Delhi. She used a variety of memes to mock the AAP chief.

YouTuber Tushar Gupta, who runs the policy and politics channel ‘The Atom’, in a post on X said Ms Gupta’s old posts are being regurgitated by “haters” because she took on Mr Kejriwal when the AAP was seen to be popular in the national capital after sweeping the assembly elections twice.

“People are hating on Rekha Gupta, the new Chief Minister of Delhi, picking up her old tweets. They don’t care for the language, they just hate the fact that someone was answering back to Arvind Kejriwal and Co in the language they best understand,” the YouTuber said.

Some AAP supporters shared screenshots of Ms Gupta’s old posts criticising Mr Kejriwal with memes on X (formerly Twitter), which have been deleted.

Trinamool Congress MP Sagarika Ghose was one of the Opposition leaders who posted about Ms Gupta’s old tweets.

“Disturbing reports on social media on Delhi’s new Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s past abusive language and rowdyism. What a far cry from the hard working and gracious Sheila Dixit and the articulate parliamentarian Sushma Swaraj. But this is the ‘new’ BJP where vicious abuse and vitriol have been normalised,” Ms Ghose alleged.

The X user, Nyaksha, responded to the Trinamool MP, “The dynamic language was rightly used against corrupt ministers. And with that intent, it still sounds better than ‘hamba hamba, bamba bamba, khamba khamba.”

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee made the “humba humba” comment in February 2021 aimed at her former colleagues who joined the BJP. The Bengal chief minister made the comments in reference to the clip clops that a bovine animal makes as it walks.

The BJP returned to power in Delhi after 26 years. Some of the first steps it will take include fulfilling key election promises, continuing welfare schemes of the previous AAP government, finding a solution to Delhi’s pollution and infrastructure issues, and cleaning the River Yamuna.

The party won 48 seats in the 70-member assembly, putting a full stop on the AAP’s decade-long Delhi march. The AAP won 22 seats, a catastrophic decline from its strong position five years ago.

New Delhi:

The Centre has ordered a probe into alleged irregularities in the renovation of the former official residence of ex-Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. The investigation was ordered following the submission of a report by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) on February 13.

The CPWD has been directed to conduct a detailed inquiry into allegations that building norms were violated to construct the 6 Flagstaff Road Bungalow, an extravagant residence sprawling over 40,000 square yards (8 acres). The inquiry is expected to probe whether government regulations were bypassed to facilitate the construction of what the BJP has dubbed the “Sheeshmahal.”

On Monday, Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva urged Lt Governor VK Saxena to annul the merger of four government properties with the 6 Flagstaff Road bungalow.

Mr Sachdeva, in a letter to Lt Governor Saxena, alleged that the bungalow’s expansion had been carried out through the unauthorised merger of four government properties. 

He also declared that once the BJP forms the government in Delhi, the newly elected Chief Minister will not occupy the bungalow.

The reconstructed bungalow served as Mr Kejriwal’s official residence from 2015 until October 2024. He vacated the premises after resigning as Chief Minister under intense political scrutiny from the BJP, which had made corruption a central theme of its electoral campaign for the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections.

The PWD report, released in October 2024, highlighted luxurious renovations and high-end appliances installed at the bungalow. This provided ammunition to the BJP in its campaign against the AAP leadership.

During a political rally, Prime Minister Narendra Modi made a veiled attack on Mr Kejriwal, stating: “In the last 10 years, Delhi has been plagued by an ‘AAPda’. AAP has descended as a calamity on Delhi. I could have built a ‘Sheeshmahal’ too, but I chose to build more than 4 crore homes for the poor.”

Mr Kejriwal dismissed the allegations as politically motivated, accusing the BJP of using personal attacks to divert attention from its alleged failures in Delhi.

The BJP has, for over two years, relentlessly targeted Mr Kejriwal over allegations of corruption and misuse of public funds, particularly regarding the lavish renovations and extravagant interiors of the bungalow.

The campaign worked as the BJP ended AAP’s rule over the national capital to return to power after over 26 years. The BJP won 48 of the 70 assembly seats, AAP won 22 and the Congress scored a duck.

New Delhi:

The Bharatiya Janata Party – eager to get going with its first Delhi government in nearly three decades – ran into a bit of a roadblock Thursday after the Chief Minister’s X account, @CMODelhi, was suddenly renamed @KejriwalAtWork, and then wiped clean and deleted from the social media platform.

Furious, the party demanded Lieutenant Governor VK Saxena’s intervention.

The BJP’s Delhi boss, Virendra Sachdeva, ripped into the outgoing Aam Aadmi Party over “the plunder of (the) Delhi Government’s digital resources by former Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal”.

“It is unfortunate that after the defeat of the government of Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi, today, on the orders of the caretaker Chief Minister (Atishi), the (account) of ‘CMO Delhi’ has been made the personal (account) of Arvind Kejriwal. Sir, this is a case of digital loot by the government, and it needs to be investigated,” he raged, tagging both Mr Kejriwal and Ms Atishi’s own X handles.

आदरणीय @LtGovDelhi

मैं आपका ध्यान पूर्व मुख्य मंत्री @ArvindKejriwal द्वारा की गई दिल्ली सरकार की डिजिटल संसाधन की लूट की ओर आकृष्ट करना चाहता हूं।

मान्यवर दिल्ली में सरकारी पैसे एवं संसाधनों से करीब एक दशक पहले एक ट्विटर हैंडल (अब एक्स पोस्ट) बनाया गया था जिसका नाम था… pic.twitter.com/v4T6CYxPls

— Virendraa Sachdeva (@Virend_Sachdeva) February 13, 2025

“It would not be an exaggeration to say that after his corrupt government collapsed, Kejriwal became a digital looter,” he said, “By orchestrating this digital heist, he misused government resources and compromised people’s private information, for which he must face legal action.”

Mr Sachdeva continued, on his own X handle, “During his ten years in power, he committed numerous scams ranging from ration card to ‘sheeshmahal‘ and from auto permit to liquor, but the new digital loot is unprecedented… hardly any outgoing Chief Minister would have done something like this.”

अरविंद केजरीवाल द्वारा सरकारी पैसे से बने, बढ़े और पहचान बनाने वाले एक्स पोस्ट (पूर्व में ट्विटर) खाते “सी.एम.ओ. दिल्ली” को खुद का निजी एक्स पोस्ट खाता बनाकर उसे “केजरीवाल एट वर्क” का नाम देने की हम निंदा करते हैं।

दस साल के सत्ता काल में राशन कार्ड से शीशमहल घोटाले तक और ऑटो… pic.twitter.com/mjLpGjTDHX

— BJP Delhi (@BJP4Delhi) February 13, 2025

He also demanded a report from the government’s IT Department to establish who had ordered the change in, and deletion of, the Delhi Chief Minister’s X handle.

Mr Kejriwal has yet to respond. But the AAP has issued a preliminary rebuttal, declaring the BJP should desist from “baseless allegations” and focus on governing the national capital.

The AAP vs BJP war that made headlines before and during the Delhi election has shown no sign of stopping as the latter takes charge of Delhi, which, for over a decade, had been Kejriwal territory.

Atishi slammed the BJP Thursday, declaring she had received complaints about faltering electricity supply almost immediately after the saffon party came to power. She claimed that within three days of the AAP being removed more than 40 outages had reported from across the city.

READ | Atishi Claims “BJP Will Turn Delhi Into UP”. Party Hits Back

However, Mr Sachdeva said he had no such information and challenged Atishi to specify which areas of Delhi are experiencing power cuts instead of making “baseless” statements.

Meanwhile, the BJP’s new Chief Minister has yet to be announced – sources told NDTV this will be decided after Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns later tonight from his trip to the United States – but there has already been much speculation over who will succeed the AAP’s Arvind Kejriwal and Atishi.

READ | BJP’s Delhi Govt Formation Talks Awaits PM’s Return From US

On top of that list is former two-time MP Parvesh Verma, who took on and defeated Mr Kejriwal in his New Delhi constituency, a seat he had held since 2013, when he beat the late Congress stalwart Sheila Dikshit. Incidentally, since 1998 the New Delhi seat has always been held by the Chief Minister.

With input from agencies

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Arvind Kejriwal and his Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) defeat in the Delhi assembly election is a turning point in Indian right wing politics. It marks the end, at least for now, of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh’s (RSS) covert dalliance with an activist-turned-politician who grew into a formidable adversary to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). In fact, it is likely the last time that the RSS would invest in a non-BJP outfit on the national stage. To understand it, we have to go to the roots of RSS’s ambitions and opportunistic collaborations of the past 75 years or so. 

To be sure, from 1980, when the BJP was born with Gandhian Socialism as its ideological credo until 1989 when it was born again, baptising itself in the Hindutva wave of the late eighties, the party remained the prodigal child for the RSS. In fact, for the most part of the decade, the Sangh was besotted with the Congress, even considering Rajiv Gandhi as its chosen one for a brief while. 

The Roots

The beginning of Sangh’s involvement in mainstream electoral politics is generally marked to be in 1951 when Syama Prasad Mookerji founded the Jan Sangh with its help. Balasaheb Deoras, RSS chief from 1973 to 1994, has said the organisation acutely felt the need for political ears when it was banned following Mahatma Gandhi’s assassination. It required elected representatives to speak for it in hostile legislatures and Parliament. Deoras was keen that RSS swayamsevaks join all political parties. The ideal proposition was they would be working in different parties during the day and attending shakhas together in the evening.

The Sangh’s aspiration was never limited to becoming the biggest organisation in the country but to be an all-encompassing, omnipresent one, with people trained in its nursery leading every aspect of national life. Explaining founder KB Hedgewar’s target of training 3% of the urban and 2% of the rural populations in the Sangh ideology, Deoras’s predecessor, MS Golwalkar, once said: “When Doctorji talked about one percent in the rural areas, he meant one capable of leading the remaining ninety-nine.”

A Coveted Instrument

That’s the reason why the RSS had its eyes set on the Congress Party and the genesis of the raging rivalry between the two. The pre-1947 Congress Party was the Big Tent of Indian politics. After Independence, it slowly broke up, with Communist outfits, socialists and Hindu nationalists exiting with big chunks of it over the next few decades. The Jan Sangh, and later the BJP, not only appealed to the majority Hindus but also were inimical to minorities. This is not to say that the RSS wanted all of them conjoined in a political set up with equal rights and powers, but merely that if it managed to take control of the largest and most diverse outfit of the time, the Congress, it could achieve its goals quicker. Holding the ideological reins of the party in power, it could dictate the rules of political and social engagement in a young country. 

While the RSS plays down Golwalkar’s political forays because of its constitutional commitment (written to abide by a condition to lift its 1948 ban) to stay away from politics, he did make several attempts. In 1937, Golwalkar himself contested for the post of general secretary of the Hindu Mahasabha when it held organisation elections for the first time, and despite GD Savarkar’s backing, lost to Indraprakash. He tried to get entry for RSS volunteers into the Congress but was thwarted by Jawaharlal Nehru. He again reportedly tried this after Nehru’s death, appealing to Lal Bahadur Shastri, Gulzarilal Nanda, MC Chagla and Swaran Singh to let RSS men into key organisational positions, but to no avail. Golwalkar then used the cow as an instrument of political mobilisation as he himself confessed to Verghese Kurien, India’s milkman. It did not deliver immediate political dividends but ended up creating much mayhem in the Capital. It did, however, help Jan Sangh gain political space in Uttar Pradesh and Gujarat.

In the post-Emergency and post-liberalisation periods, the RSS aligned with Socialist and Marxist parties. It stood in opposition to Manmohan Singh’s economic reforms, the entry of multinational corporations and computerisation, issues that took attention away from Hindutva and Mandal politics.

Struggle With Power

The political calibration and opportunistic alliances continued until the first BJP-led government was in power with Atal Bihari Vajpayee as the Prime Minister, not the person the RSS really wanted in charge. The RSS and the BJP were in their adversarial phase after the government fell and the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government, led by Manmohan Singh, came to power in 2004. Some enraged Sangh leaders even suggested severing ties with the BJP and floating a new party. Narendra Modi, then chief minister of Gujarat, was yet to get RSS backing for a national role. The gradual patch-up between the then rising Gujarat stalwart and RSS began only in 2008, but the latter was already preparing the groundwork to unseat the Congress-led UPA government, which was going after its leaders.

Simultaneously, the Sangh identified corruption and black money stashed abroad as key issues to corner the Manmohan Singh regime. It covertly backed the newly minted Magsaysay award winner Arvind Kejriwal to lead that fight. While officially, the RSS kept its hands off Kejriwal’s anti-corruption movement, its volunteers mobilised support for agitations from all over the country. In private conversations with BJP leaders, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat even held up Kejriwal and his anti-corruption stand as an example of probity in public life worthy of emulation.

Kejriwal, The ‘Neutral’ Politician

Kejriwal eventually transformed his agitation into a political party and himself into a politician, promising to use power to uplift Delhi’s lot. Although the RSS did not officially back him, many in the organisation continued to view him with admiration, and this is said to have converted to quiet electoral support too, which partly accounted for the vote swing between the Lok Sabha and assembly elections. He became arguably the only major politician in the country projecting ideological neutrality; spouting Bharat Mata ki Jai, Vande Mataram and Inquilab Zindabad in the same breath. He unhesitatingly embraced Jai Shriram, wore a skull cap at Iftar parties, recited the Hanuman Chalisa on national television, and alluded to himself as an avatar born on Lord Krishna’s birthday. 

While Kejriwal adopted Hindutva lite, a chasm emerged between the RSS and the BJP, which peaked during the Lok Sabha elections when party president JP Nadda said the party didn’t need the RSS anymore. Kejriwal lost no time in indirectly making a pitch for support to the RSS. A BJP-RSS patch-up has been, however, under way. While some sections of the RSS are still miffed with the BJP, the organisation is back at work on the ground and BJP leaders are nodding in acknowledgement. RSS volunteers worked alongside BJP cadres in Haryana, Maharashtra and Delhi. Prime Minister Modi tweeted about Mohan Bhagwat’s Vijaydashami speech last year, something he had not done for almost a decade. Devendra Fadnavis-led Maharashtra is inducting RSS volunteers as ministerial staff across the government. 

On his part, Kejriwal is not one to give up. He is likely to focus on making inroads in new political territories, perhaps in the South. Meanwhile, with major irritants out of the way in the North, the Sangh Parivar united again, and major state governments under its thumb, project Hindu Rashtra is about to shift gears.

(Dinesh Narayanan is a Delhi-based journalist and author of ‘The RSS And The Making Of The Deep Nation’.)

Disclaimer: These are the personal opinions of the author

New Delhi:

Shiv Sena leader Aaditya Thackeray is in Delhi to meet the top brass of the INDIA opposition bloc, which continues to lurch from one existential crisis to another – the latest being the BJP thumping the AAP in Delhi, and Sharad Pawar felicitating Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde.

On NCP boss Sharad Pawar’s actions, the junior Thackeray refused to be drawn, telling reporters, “I will not talk about (that)… it is our (the Sena faction now led by Uddhav Thackeray) to never honour a person like this (Mr Shinde) … (who) not only split our party but also Maharashtra’s spine…”

On the INDIA bloc picture, though, Mr Thackeray said he met the Congress’ Rahul Gandhi last night and will meet AAP boss Arvind Kejriwal later today. He then fired a warning about the “future of India” and tried to rally the grouping, accusing the BJP of plotting to “finish off… democracy”.

Mr Thackeray also raised red flags about election fraud and hacking of EVMs, or electronic voting machines, which the opposition claims – after every defeat – was orchestrated by the BJP.

“I met Rahul Gandhiji last night (and) today I will meet Arvind Kejriwalji. The future of our country is in doubt… today, we don’t know where our vote is going amid voter fraud and EVM fraud…”

“Are elections being held in a free-and-fair manner? We think we are living in a democracy… but it is no longer a democracy. What happened with us and Kejriwalji and the Congress… this could happen with Nitish (Kumar)ji, and Chandrababu Naiduji in the future…” he thundered.

The reference to Nitish Kumar was not lost; the Bihar Chief Minister helped found the INDIA bloc in 2023 before a dramatic jump (back) to the BJP’s camp 12 months later. He now faces a state election later this year, and there is speculation the INDIA bloc is trying to re-flip the JDU boss.

ARCHIVES | INDIA Bloc In Pieces? Amid Turmoil, Architect Nitish Kumar Exits

Mr Thackeray’s reference to Nitish – that the BJP may stack the odds to ensure its ‘ally’ loses the majority, or at least the upper hand, in their relationship, is being seen by many in this light.

Formed in June 2023 to unite opposition parties against the BJP, the INDIA bloc has flattered to impress, with only a few scattered Assembly election wins to show for its efforts.

The bloc has come under criticism – internal and external – with the bulk reserved for the Congress and its apparent inability to work with smaller parties on issues like seat-sharing before elections.

The defeat in Haryana and the BJP’s Delhi triumph have both been held up as examples of the Congress not ‘playing nice’. The Congress, however, hit back firmly; after the AAP’s Delhi defeat, party spokesperson Supriya Shrinate said making other parties win is not the Congress’ responsibility.

However, questions over the INDIA bloc’s future are not new; the group’s functioning was also discussed after the 2023 Madhya Pradesh election that the BJP won comfortably.

Then too there was criticism of the Congress, at which time two key group members – Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool and Akhilesh Yadav’s Samajwadi Party – delivered rebukes. Since then there has also been talk of a leadership change, with Ms Banerjee the apparent consensus pick.

Mr Thackeray, though, firmly ruled out any talk of the bloc crumbling or a leadership shuffle, stating, “There are many seniors who will prepare a roadmap. The INDIA bloc has joint leadership… there is no one leader. This is not a fight of egos but for the future of the country.”

The bloc’s next big challenge (assuming it stays together till then) is the Bihar election.

With input from agencies

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New Delhi:

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) chief Arvind Kejriwal today alleged Union Home Minister and BJP leader Amit Shah is allowing “gundaraaj (hooliganism)” to harass AAP workers ahead of voting in the Delhi assembly election scheduled on Wednesday.

Mr Kejriwal told reporters people allegedly backed by the BJP assaulted AAP workers, and the Delhi Police did not do anything to stop it.

A video has surfaced showing members of the Valmiki Samaj and the Dalit Mahapanchayat protesting against Mr Kejriwal, who was Delhi chief minister before Atishi took over. In the video, the protesters are seen vandalising an AAP campaign tempo.

The protesters are seen tearing apart posters of the yellow-and-blue broomstick election symbol of the AAP, which were pasted on the van.

The AAP alleged the Delhi Police did not act against the attackers.

The New Delhi Deputy Commissioner of Police, however, in a post on X said they have not received any complaint about the alleged attack.

“Thank you for bringing this into our notice,” the DCP New Delhi said in the post, replying to Mr Kejriwal’s post which had a video of the vandalism. “No PCR [police control room] call or complaint received in police station. It is requested that a formal complaint may be lodged in the police station and we assure strict legal action,” the police officer said.

On members of the Maharashtra Valmiki Samaj and Dalit Mapanchayat attacking AAP’s election campaign van, DCP New Delhi tweets “No PCR call or complaint received in police station. It is requested that a formal complaint may be lodged in the Police station and we assure strict… https://t.co/yw0JMtpxkR pic.twitter.com/SdCeiI45CF

— ANI (@ANI) February 2, 2025

Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva and MP Manoj Tiwari said the AAP government thrives on “lies, confusion, and negative politics”.

“They have no concern for the people of Delhi, which is why the entire city is now united in one voice – we want a BJP government,” Mr Sachdeva said at the launch of the BJP’s campaign song, ‘Dilwalon Ki Dilli Ko BJP Sarkar Chahiye’, sung by former MP Dinesh Lal Yadav ‘Nirahua’.

Earlier, BJP national spokesperson and MP Sambit Patra said the AAP has indulged in corruption in all departments. “The voters of Delhi are going to apply black ink on the face of scamsters,” he said, alluding to the Delhi liquor policy case in which Mr Kejriwal and his deputy Manish Sisodia were jailed for several months.

Referring to the vandalism, AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar said the BJP is “heading towards a historic defeat” and is trying to boost party workers’ morale.

“BJP had earlier got stones thrown at Arvind Kejriwal on January 18… The morale of BJP goons has increased so much that today they are openly attacking the Aam Aadmi Party’s campaign van. There was an LED installed on it, which they broke… The eyes of the Election Commission in Delhi are closed, they are not able to see any of the misdeeds of the BJP… Such hooliganism will not work in Delhi. The BJP should be called out for its misdeeds,” Ms Kakkar told reporters today.

#WATCH | On members of the Maharashtra Valmiki Samaj and Dalit Mapanchayat attacking AAP’s election campaign van, AAP National Spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar says “…BJP is heading towards a historic defeat. BJP had earlier got stones pelted on Arvind Kejriwal on 18th… https://t.co/yw0JMtpxkR pic.twitter.com/FYKbR5BCZg

— ANI (@ANI) February 2, 2025

Mr Kejriwal also posted a video showing a BJP leader asking residents at a narrow street in Delhi’s Janakpuri to remove AAP flags and keep only BJP ones. Ashish Sood, the local BJP candidate, was seen stepping on the AAP’s flags which had fallen on the road.

The AAP and BJP’s rivalry is not new. When Mr Kejriwal was chief minister, the AAP and the BJP fought bitterly. Mr Kejriwal has for long alleged the Centre has been creating trouble in Delhi, a Union Territory, using the Delhi Police which comes under the Ministry of Home Affairs and the office of the Lieutenant Governor.

The Congress, which was in power for 15 consecutive years in Delhi, has suffered setbacks in the last two assembly elections and has failed to win any seat.

In contrast, the AAP dominated the 2020 assembly election by winning 62 out of the 70 seats while the BJP got only eight seats.

Votes will be counted on February 8.

New Delhi:

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) national convenor Arvind Kejriwal has written to the Chief Election Officer (CEO) of Delhi, raising concerns over alleged attacks on his party workers in the New Delhi Assembly constituency. The AAP has been claiming that AAP workers were being targeted and assaulted by “goons” associated with the BJP candidate from the New Delhi Assembly, Parvesh Verma. It has also been alleged that a female AAP worker had been harassed.

In his letter, Mr Kejriwal has demanded that independent election observers be deployed in the New Delhi Assembly area to prevent such incidents. He further called upon the Election Commission to ensure the safety of AAP volunteers.

He also demanded strict action against the “BJP workers” responsible for the attacks.

Additionally, he urged the immediate suspension of police personnel deployed in the area for failing to maintain security.

These allegations were also raised by AAP Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, who claimed that AAP workers were attacked in the Chelmsford Club slum area in New Delhi.

Mr Singh, in his complaint, stated that on February 1, around 1:00 pm, individuals wearing BJP sashes and caps, allegedly linked to Verma, physically assaulted AAP workers Gaurav Singh, Suresh Acharya, and Pranali Rawat. He also alleged that Rawat was harassed during the incident.

Mr Singh accused the police of inaction, stating that officers refused to intervene against Verma’s supporters.

“The police on-site admitted that the SHO had instructed them not to take any action against Parvesh Verma’s supporters. Given the situation, the SHO should be suspended immediately,” Mr Singh had stated in his letter.

These accusations come just days before the Delhi Assembly elections, scheduled for February 5. The counting of votes and announcement of results are set to take place on February 8.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

New Delhi:

Eight outgoing AAP MLAs joined the BJP here on Saturday, with only four days to go for the February 5 Delhi Assembly polls. All the eight MLAs resigned from the primary membership of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday, citing reasons like alleged corruption and the Arvind Kejriwal-led party’s deviation from its ideology.

All the eight legislators were denied poll tickets by the AAP this time.

The MLAs who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are Vandana Gaur (Palam), Rohit Mehraulia (Trilokpuri), Girish Soni (Madipur), Madan Lal (Kasturba Nagar), Rajesh Rishi (Uttam Nagar), B S Joon (Bijwasan), Naresh Yadav (Mehrauli) and Pawan Sharma (Adarsh Nagar).

After resigning from the AAP, they said they had also sent their resignation letters to the Assembly speaker, relinquishing their membership of the House.

Former AAP MLA Vijender Garg and several other leaders of the Kejriwal-led party too joined the saffron outfit in the presence of Baijayant Panda, its national vice-president and the in-charge of the Delhi BJP, and state president Virendra Sachdeva.

Welcoming the MLAs and leaders to the BJP, Panda said it is a “historic” day as they have gotten rid of “AAPda” (disaster) and hoped that after the February 5 polls, Delhi too will be freed from it.

The 70-member Delhi Assembly is scheduled to go to polls on February 5, with the results set to be declared on February 8.

(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by NDTV staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)

Arvind Kejriwal’s AAP lost six MLAs today, just five days before Delhi election

The row over Arvind Kejriwal’s comments on Yamuna continued today with Congress’s Rahul Gandhi this time holding him accountable for the river’s sorry state. In a video released today, Mr Gandhi is seen doing a thorough recce of the river, taking a boat ride, taking to boat men, locals and researchers. His conclusion — very little has been done over the last five years to improve the condition of the river that flows through the heart of Delhi and contributes to the pollution of Ganga. 

In the video, Mr Gandhi begins where he left off yesterday — “Five years ago, Mr Kejriwal said he would take a dip in the Yamuna”. 
Then begins the detailed exploration that takes in the garbage and sewage dumped in the river and views of people taking a dip in the muck.

The researcher he spoke to, gave a 360 degree view of the situation, including the pollutants flowing in from the upper reaches, diversion of water that is making it difficult to flush out the garbage and the faulty sewage treatment plants that are contributing to the mess. 
The people he spoke to were unanimous in their condemnation of any river cleaning process, declaring them to an eyewash meant to siphon off money. 

Days ahead of the assembly election in Delhi, Mr Kejriwal had claimed that the BJP government of Haryana was “mixing poison” in the city’s water supply in an attempt to “create chaos… hoping the blame will fall” on his party’s administration.

But his bizarre claim has been slammed by both the BJP and the Congress. Following a BJP complaint, the Election Commission had asked him to produce evidence backing up his claims. 

When Mr Kejriwal’s citing of a Jal Board letter was not considered and acceptable and the Commission sought more concrete evidence, the former Chief Minister of Delhi responded with a “drink if you dare” challenge. 

“We have four bottles… will send to each one of them… please drink and show us. Then we will believe,” he said in response, pointing to a row of plastic bottles filled, he said, with Yamuna water.