By Admin 
Just before the Delhi Municipal Corporation (MCD) by-elections, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has suffered a major setback. Senior AAP leader and former MLA Rajesh Gupta joined BJP on Saturday (29 November). There has been no immediate reaction from AAP on this development.
Rajesh Gupta has held high positions in the party
Gupta, a two-time AAP MLA, was also the party’s national spokesperson and in-charge of the party’s Karnataka unit. He joined BJP in the presence of Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) Delhi State President Virendra Sachdeva. A statement issued by the Delhi unit of BJP said that Sachdeva welcomed Gupta into the BJP. Sachdeva said that AAP leaders are now counting the shortcomings and problems in Delhi that had arisen during their party’s 12-year rule and yet they are raising questions on the eight-month-old BJP government.
Got emotional while leaving the party
Rajesh Gupta alleged that the ‘biggest reason’ behind the ‘downfall’ of AAP and its leader Arvind Kejriwal was the ‘use and throw’ behavior towards the workers. While joining BJP, Rajesh Gupta became emotional remembering his contribution to AAP, the ridicule he received in return and the behavior of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. Tears also appeared in his eyes.
Rajesh Gupta said that when AAP was formed, many eminent people had happily supported Arvind Kejriwal, but he ‘betrayed everyone’ and one by one, they all abandoned him. He said, ‘Today, unfortunately, I have also been included in that list.’
He claimed that in Ashok Vihar ward, AAP has given ticket for the by-election to a person to whom the party itself has issued a notice. He said, “Despite my years of honesty, truthfulness and loyalty, when I raised my concerns, the party chief was not even ready to talk to me. This is the situation when the party is neither in power in Delhi nor in the MCD.” Gupta claimed that treating workers like ‘use and throw’ is the biggest reason for the downfall of Arvind Kejriwal and AAP.
What did Virendra Sachdeva say?
Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva said that Rajesh Gupta had created a distinct identity for himself as a responsible MLA, but Arvind Kejriwal could not appreciate that identity. He said that the way Kejriwal disappeared from Delhi after losing the assembly elections and the circumstances in which he went, there should be a deep investigation. Sachdeva said that Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia are completely missing, AAP leaders Atishi and Gopal Rai are only making “special appearances” in Delhi. He was referring to the campaign for the Delhi Municipal Corporation by-election.