Senior leader and three-time MLA Brahm Singh Tanwar joined the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Delhi on Thursday, in a setback to the BJP in Delhi ahead of the assembly polls due early next year.
Tanwar and his associates joined AAP in the presence of former Delhi CM and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal during a programme held at the party headquarters. Tanwar is a big leader of Delhi who was a three-time MLA from Chhatarpur and Mehrauli constituencies. He will strengthen the AAP family, Kejriwal said.
The development comes four months after sitting AAP MLA from the Chhatarpur constituency in south Delhi Kartar Singh Tanwar joined the BJP. Tanwar said he was influenced by Kejriwal's working style and enthusiasm to serve the people and promised to work for AAP with dedication.
In Maharashtra, the Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) suffered another blow with Congress leader Ravi Raja resigning and joining the Bharatiya Janata Party. Ravi Raja joined the BJP in the presence of Maharashtra Deputy Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on the occasion of Diwali. Mumbai BJP President Ashish Shelar was also present at the event. The BJP appointed Ravi Raja as the vice-president of the Mumbai unit.
Ravi Raja, one of the veterans of the Mumbai Congress, was reportedly unhappy with the allocation of seats. He intended to contest the Sion Koliwada Assembly constituency in Mumbai, but the ticket was given to Ganesh Yadav, a close associate of Mumbai Congress president Varsha Gaikwad.
Devendra Fadnavis said that several senior Congress leaders were queuing up to join the BJP. "Don’t ask me the names now; they’ll be revealed in due time," he said. Fadnavis added that the inclusion of Ravi Raja, who had played a key role in maintaining Congress’s presence in Mumbai, would greatly benefit the BJP in the Assembly elections.