Two-time MLA and Delhi vice-president of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Rajesh Gupta, has quit the party and joined the BJP just a day before the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) bypolls — a move seen as a significant political setback for AAP. Gupta was inducted into the BJP in the presence of the party’s Delhi unit chief Virendra Sachdeva. During the announcement, he broke down while explaining why he chose to leave, accusing AAP of abandoning its original values and disrespecting long-time workers.
Gupta said that those who left their jobs to join the Anna movement and build the party from scratch were now being sidelined. “They don’t care about people who stood by them. Many want to leave AAP, and I think they should. Workers should go where they are respected — not used and thrown away,” he said.
He held AAP national convenor and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal directly responsible for his exit, claiming that Kejriwal no longer values hard-working loyalists. He alleged that leaders who were deeply involved in defending him during controversies were ignored, while tickets were handed to “the wrong people.” He further claimed that the candidate who received the ticket was celebrating his birthday during a crisis in the party, while he himself did not celebrate his own children’s birthdays and continued defending AAP “from the Assembly to TV studios.”
Gupta also questioned ticket distribution decisions, saying that a leader once removed by Kejriwal for sharing internal video clips with the CBI was reinstated and given an election ticket despite complaints of misconduct. “What liabilities do you have that you relied on such a person?” he asked.
Praising the BJP, Gupta said he chose it because it offers dignity and growth to party workers. “Even the smallest worker in the BJP can become a Chief Minister or the Prime Minister,” he said, adding that he chose the country over the party.
AAP has not issued a statement yet in response to his departure. The development comes on the eve of a direct electoral contest between the AAP and BJP in the MCD bypolls for 12 wards on November 30, making the timing of Gupta’s defection politically sensitive.
