AAP MLA Ved Prakash joins BJP, AAP cries money power

AAP legislator Ved Prakash resigned from the party as well as assembly membership and joined BJP on Monday, ahead of the April 23 MCD elections.

Prakash, the MLA from Bawana, claimed there was no democracy in the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and accused Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of not fulfilling the promises he made before sweeping the 2015 Assembly elections. "I am resigning from the AAP as it has failed to deliver on its promises made during the 2015 Assembly elections. People are feeling cheated," Prakash said.

Prakash announced his decision to join the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party at a press conference here, also attended by Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari. Later in the day, Prakash resigned from the assembly membership. The Aam Aadmi Party said that the BJP was conspiring to break the ruling party by "purchasing" AAP MLAs.

Voting for the 272 wards of north, east and south Delhi municipal corporations will be held on April 23 and the results will be declared on April 26. Prakash said he was feeling "suffocated" at the Aam Aadmi Party. "The government has failed on corruption front. Several government departments are still loaded with corruption," he said. Prakash claimed that 30-35 MLAs in the AAP were not happy with the party leadership. "This party has lost its connect with the people. They do not know what is happening at the ground level," he claimed.

Reacting to the development, senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh said the BJP was rattled by Kejriwal's decision to abolish house tax in Delhi if voted to power in the

three municipal corporations. "Positive reactions are coming after this announcement, which rattled the BJP and it then resorted to political machinations that are not going to work," Sanjay Singh said.

He alleged that the BJP was conspiring to break his party by purchasing MLAs because it feared losing the civic body polls.