BJP’s unique stand on induction in poll-bound Delhi — AAP defectors not welcome

However, in case a decision is taken to allow AAP defectors, it will be done before November, won’t wait till Delhi polls, say BJP leaders.

Ex-AAP MLA Anil Bajpai along with BJP leader Vijender Gupta addresses a press conference in New Delhi. Sunday | ANI Photo

New Delhi: Congress defectors in Goa and Karnataka have been welcomed to the BJP, but potential Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) defectors should not expect a similar response from the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Delhi that will go to polls early next year.

BJP leaders in the national capital have been brainstorming over this issue and have told the party leadership they should set a deadline of November for any potential defectors to join it, sources said.

The BJP also wants that joining the party should not be linked to allotment of election tickets as it would discourage party workers who have been toiling hard for years.

‘People have rejected AAP’s politics’

A Delhi BJP leader, who did not wish to be named, said: “We have discussed the issue in Delhi BJP meetings, including at the state unit’s two-day executive meeting on 28 June and 29 June. Most leaders are of the view that at this point, we should not allow AAP MLAs to join the BJP as people have rejected their politics.”

“In case a decision is taken to allow them to become a part of the party, it must be done by November and shouldn’t wait till elections,” the leader added.

AAP defectors Devinder Singh Sehrawat and Anil Bajpai were present at the meeting when this issue was being discussed, said a BJP source. Sehrawat had joined the BJP in May, the second AAP MLA to quit the party after Gandhi Nagar MLA Bajpai.

The BJP retained all the seven seats in Delhi in this Lok Sabha election and had won the municipal corporation elections in 2017. However, capturing Delhi has remained a distant dream for the party, which its Delhi leaders feel can be done now as the atmosphere is conducive to them.

“People have realised that AAP does no work, but makes hollow promises. 2020 Delhi elections are our best bet,” said another BJP leader.

‘If AAP MLAs fielded in polls, it will affect old BJP workers’

The BJP leader said: “It should also be clear whether the AAP MLAs who wish to join the party are doing so for a party ticket. Delhi BJP workers have been working tirelessly over the years despite not coming to power. They continued to work for the party and if AAP MLAs are taken in days before elections and (then) fielded, it will affect their morale.”

In the 2013 Delhi Assembly elections that marked the AAP’s political debut, the BJP had emerged as the biggest player, winning 32 of the 70 seats. The AAP had won 28 seats and subsequently formed the government with the outside support of the Congress’ eight MLAs. Kejriwal, however, resigned 49 days later over Jan Lokpal. In 2015, the AAP returned to power with a stunning mandate, winning 67 seats.