Mumbai: Shiv Sena leader and Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde on Saturday revealed that 15 Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leaders had approached his party and wanted to contest its symbol in the Delhi Assembly elections, results of which were announced today. The revelation came even as the BJP is all set to form Government in Delhi by winning 48 of the 70 seats in Delhi, while the AAP won only 22 seats.
Speaking to reporters, Shinde said that while the AAP leaders had approached his party, Shiv Sena decided not to go ahead and fully support the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for the assembly polls due to the similar ideology between the two parties.
15 AAP leaders wanted to contest under Shiv Sena symbol: Eknath Shinde
“15 leaders of AAP wanted to contest Delhi elections under Shiv Sena symbol of bow and arrow. However since our ideology matches with the BJP, we decided to fully support the part to avoid any division in votes in the election,” Shinde said.
Kejriwal’s allegations of poaching against BJP
Earlier this week, AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal had claimed that 15 of its leaders were approached by the BJP, who had also offered them Rs 15 crore each. The political temperature in Delhi had increased after Kejriwal’s claim after which Delhi L-G VK Saxena had also ordered a probe into his poaching charges.
On Friday some officials of the Anti-corruption Bureau visited his house and handed him a notice with a series of questions. Slamming the BJP , AAP leader Sanjay Singh had called the former and corrupt party. He had also alleged that BJP wanted to break other parties.
Meanwhile, the BJP has won 48 seats in Delhi Assembly, while AAP won 22. Congress could not win a single seat just as in the previous two Assembly Elections in Delhi. Several senior leaders of AAP including Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and Saurabh Bharadwaj have lost elections from their constituencies, while Chief Minister Atishi won from the Kalkaji seat.
