By Express News Service
NEW DELHI: Ahead of the assembly election, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) of Himachal Pradesh got another jolt on Monday, when its state chief of women’s wing Mamata Thakur, along with others, joined the ruling BJP in New Delhi, on Monday.
The joining was held at a time when the national president of BJP J Nadda was on a four-day visit to the state from April 9 to 12. Welcoming Mamata Thakur and others in the BJP, Union Minister Anurag Thakur said that the AAP has started facing an existential challenge in Himachal Pradesh because of its faulty policies and lack of internal democracy in the party.
Taking a jibe at Arvind Kejariwal, he said, “Delhi CM and Chief of AAP Arvind Kejariwal will find it difficult to save his party’s organisation in Himachal Pradesh.” He also predicted that the process of joining of Aam Aadmi Party’s leaders from Himachal Pradesh would continue further giving an existential challenge to the AAP in Himachal Pradesh.
“Overlooking workers has become a habit of AAP. As a result of this habit, its leaders are deserting the party adjoining the BJP,” he claimed.
Ashish Kumar-vice president of IT Cell of Himachal Pradesh AAP also joined the BJP along with Mamata Thakur. As the AAP has decided to contest all assembly seats in the upcoming assembly in Himachal Pradesh, the desertion of its four prominent state leaders including the state president of Himachal Pradesh in the last four days has given a major jolt to its organisational strength ahead of assembly elections.
Last Friday, Anup Keshari along with Satish Thakur and Una district chief Iqbal Singh were the first who joined the BJP, accusing the Delhi Chief Minister of being concerned and communicative to the state leaders of the party.
Mamata Thakur after joining the BJP in New Delhi presence of senior leaders of BJP, including union minister Anurag Thakur, national generals secretary and LS MP Arun Singh, Minakshi Lekhi and Sanjay Mayukh lashed out at the AAP central leadership for ignoring the state leaders and indulging in the tarnishing the political character of those who have recently joined the BJP.