NEW DELHI: Eight legislators from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), who were not granted tickets to participate in the forthcoming Delhi assembly elections, announced their resignation from the party led by Arvind Kejriwal on Friday.
The eight MLAs who have departed from AAP include: Girish Soni (Madipur), Rohit Mehraulia (Trilokpuri), Madan Lal (Kasturba Nagar), Rajesh Rishi (Janakpuri), Naresh Yadav (Mehrauli), Bhavna Gaur (Palam), Pawan Kumar Sharma (Adarsh Nagar), and BS Joon (Bijwasan).
The Kejriwal-led party is set to contest all 70 seats in the national capital, with elections scheduled for February 5 and vote counting to occur on February 8.
In preparation for the 2025 Delhi elections, AAP has excluded 20 incumbent MLAs from its candidate list, opting instead to nominate former members of the Bharatiya Janata Party and Congress in certain constituencies.
Details of the eight MLAs who resigned from AAP are as follows:
Girish Soni: The sitting MLA from Madipur, who was omitted from the party’s candidate list, expressed in a post on X that the ongoing activities within AAP have faced “long-standing criticism,” raising concerns akin to “Sheeshmahal.” He questioned, “Are we truly common people?” and declared, “In light of these issues, I am resigning from all responsibilities and from the primary membership of Aam Aadmi Party.”
Rohit Kumar Mehraulia: The representative from Trilokpuri assembly constituency resigned from all positions and his primary membership in the party, citing “unfulfilled promises” regarding the upliftment of the Dalit/Valmiki community. Mehraulia accused AAP of “exploiting” his community for political advantage and failing to resolve employment-related issues, despite having supported the party’s ascent to power in the capital.
Madan Lal: The MLA from Kasturba Nagar resigned after being denied a ticket for the upcoming elections, stating that he has lost faith in AAP and its national convenor, Arvind Kejriwal.
Bhavna Gaur: The Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) representing Palam has resigned from both the party and its primary membership, expressing that she has “lost faith in you (Arvind Kejriwal) and the party.” She posted an image of her resignation letter on the platform X.
Rajesh Rishi: The AAP representative from Janakpuri has stepped down from all roles and his primary membership in the party led by Kejriwal. He criticized the party for straying from its foundational principles of corruption-free governance, transparency, and accountability.
Pawan Kumar Sharma: The MLA from Adarsh Nagar stated in his resignation that the party has deviated from the honest principles upon which it was established. “I am deeply saddened by the current state of The Aam Aadmi Party. Please accept my resignation,” Sharma remarked.
BS June: Bhupender Singh June, the MLA for Bijwasan, has also completely withdrawn from the Aam Aadmi Party, citing a “significant deviation” from the core values and principles that the party was founded upon. He noted that over time, the party has increasingly displayed characteristics of centralization, lack of transparency, and insufficient internal democracy.
Naresh Yadav: The legislator from Mehrauli indicated that the primary reason for his resignation was “corruption.” In a statement to news agency ANI, Yadav remarked, “The extent of corruption within AAP is alarming. AAP originated from Anna Hazare’s movement, with a singular aim to eradicate corruption from Delhi and subsequently from the entire nation, which was my motivation for joining AAP.”
