New Delhi, Februaru 1: Eight outgoing AAP MLAs joined the BJP here on Saturday, with only four days to go for the February 5 Delhi Assembly polls. All the eight MLAs resigned from the primary membership of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday, citing reasons like alleged corruption and the Arvind Kejriwal-led party's deviation from its ideology.

All the eight legislators were denied poll tickets by the AAP this time.

The MLAs who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) are Vandana Gaur (Palam), Rohit Mehraulia (Trilokpuri), Girish Soni (Madipur), Madan Lal (Kasturba Nagar), Rajesh Rishi (Uttam Nagar), B S Joon (Bijwasan), Naresh Yadav (Mehrauli) and Pawan Sharma (Adarsh Nagar). AAP Faces Major Setback Ahead of Delhi Assembly Elections 2025 As 8 MLAs Resign Just 5 Days Before Polls.

After resigning from the AAP, they said they had also sent their resignation letters to the Assembly speaker, relinquishing their membership of the House. Former AAP MLA Vijender Garg and several other leaders of the Kejriwal-led party too joined the saffron outfit in the presence of Baijayant Panda, its national vice-president and the in-charge of the Delhi BJP, and state president Virendra Sachdeva. AAP MLA Resignations: Setback for Aam Aadmi Party As 8 MLAs Resign Ahead of Delhi Assembly Elections 2025, Check Names Here.

Welcoming the MLAs and leaders to the BJP, Panda said it is a "historic" day as they have gotten rid of "AAPda" (disaster) and hoped that after the February 5 polls, Delhi too will be freed from it. The 70-member Delhi Assembly is scheduled to go to polls on February 5, with the results set to be declared on February 8.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)