Set back for AAP; its Bawana MLA joins BJP

In a jolt to Aam Aadmi Party weeks before the crucial municipal polls, its Bawana MLA Ved Parkash today quit the party and joined BJP, accusing the Kejriwal government of failing to fulfil promises made in the run up to the 2015 assembly polls.
43-year-old Parkash, who had switched over to AAP from the BJP before the Lok Sabha polls, has also resigned as MLA, bringing down the ruling party's strenth to 65 in the 70- member Delhi Assembly.
His resignation comes at a time when AAP is making an all out effort to win the April 23 municipal polls after the party's disappointing performance in the recent Punjab and Goa assembly polls.

"I was feeling suffocated in the AAP. They (AAP) have failed to deliver on the promises made during the assembly elections. There are around 35 MLAs in AAP who are not happy with the way the party leadership is running the party," Parkash told a press conference at the Delhi BJP office.
He was flanked by senior BJP leaders including the party's Delhi in-charge Shyam Jaju, city unit chief of the party Manoj Tiwari, Leader of Opposition in the Delhi Assemmbly Vijender Gupta among others.
In a sharp reaction, the AAP accused the BJP of trying to destabilise the city government and said the saffron party is rattled by the prospect of a "severe defeat" in the civic polls after Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal's decision to do away with residential house tax.

Targeting Kejriwal, Parkash said the AAP government has miserably failed to contain graft and people of the city were feeling "cheated" after voting it to power.

In a letter to Kejriwal, Parkash said he was pained to see that though the party had come to power promising to end corruption, no concrete measures have been taken in the last two years to contain graft.
Parkash said the AAP government is totally "disconnected from ground realities" and is "being run through laptop".
Welcoming Parkash into the BJP, Tiwari said not only the people of Delhi are suffering due to the "failures" of Kejriwal government, there is desperation among AAP MLAs as well.

"A large number of good social workers had joined Aam Aadmi Party with great hopes between the year 2012 and 2015. But the Aam Aadmi Party and its government is only working for fulfilling Kejriwal's political ambition," said Tiwari.
Sources in the Election Commission said once the vacancy is notified by the Delhi Assembly, a call on holding the bypoll for the seat vacated by Parkash will be taken.
Parkash's resignation has brought down the AAP's tally to 65 from 67 in the 70-member Delhi Legislative Assembly. Earlier Rajouri Garden MLA Jarnail Singh had quit to contest Punjab assembly elections against Akali Dal leader Parkash Singh Badal.