In a major setback for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the upcoming Assembly polls, senior leader and Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot Sunday resigned from the primary membership of the party and the council of ministers.AAP national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwaltermed Gahlot’s resignation as a “conspiracy” orchestrated by political rivals.
Kejriwal alleged that he was being “harassed” for months, blaming the BJP for misusing central agencies for political gains. With this, four MLAs, including two ministers, have resigned from the AAP — Rajendra Pal Gautam, who joined the Congress in September, Patel Nagar and Chattarpur MLAs Raaj Kumar Anand and Kartar Singh Tanwar, who joined the BJP during the Lok Sabha polls.
Gahlot, a two-time MLA from Najafgarh, announced his resignation on X (formerly Twitter). In a letter addressed to AAP chief Kejriwal, Gahlot said that the party has moved from fighting for people’s rights to fighting for its own political agenda.
In his resignation letter addressed to AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Gahlot highlighted unfulfilled promises and recent controversies as reasons for his decision. Gahlot, a key figure in the AAP government, criticised the party’s inability to deliver on crucial commitments made to the people of Delhi.
Among the issues raised in his letter was the failure to clean the Yamuna River, a key election promise. “We promised the people to transform Yamuna into a clean river, but never got around doing it. Now the Yamuna River is perhaps even more polluted than ever before.”
Gahlot also addressed the controversy surrounding Kejriwal’s new official bungalow. “There are many embarrassing and awkward controversies like the ‘SHEESH MAHAL’, which are now making everyone doubt whether we still believe in being the AAM AADMI,” he added.
Gahlot further lamented the continuous friction between the Delhi government and the central government, which he claimed has severely hampered the capital’s progress.
In a major political development, former BJP MLA Anil Jha has officially joined the AAP in the presence of Kejriwal. The announcement marks a significant shift in Delhi’s political landscape as Jha is a two-time BJP legislator from the Kirari Assembly constituency in North West Delhi.
