Seven current MLAs have resigned and left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), a significant shock to the party less than a week before the Delhi Assembly elections.
The party did not provide a ticket for the subsequent Assembly elections to the lawmakers who left the party: Rajesh Rishi from Janakpuri, Madan Lal from Kasturba Nagar, Rohit Mehrauliya from Trilokpuri, Bhupinder Singh Joon from Bijawasan, Pawan Sharma from Adarsh Nagar, Bhawna Gaur from Palam, and Naresh Yadav from Mehrauli.
Due to their leaders’ involvement in corruption scandals, the majority of MLAs stated in their resignation letters that they had “lost faith” in the party. “I joined the Aam Aadmi Party for honesty. But today I can’t see that honesty anywhere. I spoke to several people of my Mehrauli constituency and most of them said that AAP is completely embroiled in corruption,” Mehrauli MLA Naresh Yadav’s letter read.
In December 2024, a court in Malerkotla, Punjab, condemned Yadav to two years in prison for desecration of the Quran in 2016.
After being found guilty, Yadav wrote on X on December 20 that he had asked Arvind Kejriwal to deny him a ticket to the Assembly elections. “I will not contest elections until I am honorably acquitted. I am completely innocent and the allegations levelled against me are politically motivated and false. That is why I have requested them to free me from contesting elections,” Yadav had posted on X on December 20.
Joon, a Bijawasan MLA, said he made the choice after observing a notable departure from the ideals and principles upon which the party was established. “AAP was envisioned as a transparent, people-centric organisation committed to eradicating corruption and fostering ethical governance. However, over time, the party has increasingly exhibited traits of centralisation and a lack of internal democracy,” Joon stated.
He added that at first, the party firmly opposed granting tickets or membership to anybody with a criminal history. It has now decided to run a candidate from Bijwasan AC-36, nevertheless, who has a number of criminal charges against him, including ones involving moral turpitude.
