Days after Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) supremo Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann conducted a roadshow in Himachal Pradesh, the President of the State unit of AAP joined hands with the BJP.
Anoop Kesari, the former President of AAP for Himachal Pradesh, was inducted into the saffron party at the residence of BJP chief JP Nadda. Besides Kesari, AAP Una President Iqbal Singh and Organisation General Secretary Satish Thakur too joined the BJP.
Citing sources, News 18 reported that BJP leader Anurag Thakur has been the mastermind behind facilitating the defection of AAP leaders. Anoop Kesari informed that he and several party workers were insulted by Mann and Kejriwal.
Delhi | Aam Aadmi Party Himachal Pradesh President Anoop Kesari, Organization General Secretary Satish Thakur and Una President Iqbal Singh joined BJP.
— ANI (@ANI) April 8, 2022
Union Minister Anurag Thakur inducted the three leaders at BJP National President JP Nadda’s residence. pic.twitter.com/1Zzui41GE8
Kesari remarked, “During the roadshow in Mandi, except CM Kejriwal and CM Mann no one was allowed on the vehicle. No leader was given a place on the rath (vehicle). It was an insult to the karyakartas (workers) and we are very proud of ourselves and can’t compromise on our self-respect.”
The former AAP President added that he reached out to Anurag Thakur and conveyed how the party leadership had insulted him. “It is unconditional support that we pledged (to the BJP),” he emphasised.
Himachal Pradesh | AAP national convenor & Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal along with Punjab CM Bhagwant Mann hold a roadshow in Mandi
— ANI (@ANI) April 6, 2022
First, we eradicated corruption in Delhi & then in Punjab, now it’s time to uproot corruption from Himachal Pradesh: Arvind Kejriwal pic.twitter.com/UprzNyOeoo
It must be mentioned that Arvind Kejriwal had recently kickstarted AAP’s campaign in Himachal Pradesh, ahead of the State Legislative elections in 68 constituencies this year. He chose the home turg of BJP Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur for his election campaign.
Arvind Kejriwal had claimed, “First, we eradicated corruption in Delhi, then in Punjab. Now, it’s time to uproot corruption from Himachal Pradesh…We are common people, we don’t know how to do politics. Instead, we know how to work for people, build schools and end corruption. We have ended corruption in just 20 days in Punjab since Bhagwant Mann became the chief minister. Now, ‘kranti’ should happen in Himachal Pradesh too.”
100 AAP workers join BJP in Gujarat
Last month, a group of about 150 party members from the Anand district in Gujarat had resigned from the primary membership of the Aam Aadmi Party. They had accused the state-level party leadership of high-handedness.
As per reports, they appealed to all the AAP members in the state to leave the party. Interestingly, the resignation letters of all these members were addressed to the AAP president Arvind Kejriwal.
