New Delhi: Three Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors switched allegiance to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday, bolstering the BJP’s prospects in the upcoming MCD mayoral election and paving the way for a potential “triple engine” government in Delhi.
The three councillors, Anita Basoya (Andrews Ganj), Nikhil Chaprana (Hari Nagar), and Dharamvir (R K Puram), were welcomed by Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, who expressed confidence in developing Delhi under a unified BJP government at the Centre, Assembly and municipal levels.
Prominent Personalities are joining BJP. @Virend_Sachdeva https://t.co/JoOUObyAXx
— BJP Delhi (@BJP4Delhi) February 15, 2025
Sachdeva said that the councillors joined the BJP to contribute to making Delhi a cleaner and more beautiful city under the BJP government at all three tiers of power in the national capital. This defection follows the BJP’s recent landslide victory in the Delhi Assembly polls, where they secured 48 out of 70 seats by ousting AAP from power after two successful terms under the leadership of Arvind Kejriwal.
The mayoral election, scheduled for April, is now within the BJP’s sights. The AAP had won the previous mayoral election in November 2024 by a narrow margin of three votes.
Along with the three councillors, Sandeep Basoya, former New Delhi district president of AAP, also joined the BJP, further strengthening the party’s position in the capital. This marks a setback for the AAP as the political landscape in Delhi continues to shift after the AAP lost the assembly election.
The electoral college for the mayoral poll includes not only the councillors but also seven BJP Lok Sabha MPs, three AAP Rajya Sabha MPs, and 14 nominated MLAs. With over a dozen AAP councillors having already switched to the BJP, and 10 out of the 14 eligible MLAs belonging to the BJP, a BJP mayoral victory appears highly likely.
The BJP’s tally of councillors now surpasses that of AAP, and the party is also expected to secure 10 out of 14 nominated MLA positions in the MCD, further solidifying its advantage. The February 5 Assembly polls also saw eight BJP and three AAP councillors elected to the Assembly, further impacting the MCD’s political composition.
