The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of engaging in large-scale horse-trading after 13 of its municipal councillors resigned from the party and announced the formation of a new political outfit — the Indraprastha Vikas Party.
AAP spokesperson Priyanka Kakkar alleged that each councillor was offered Rs 5 crore to defect. “Since the time of the Mayor election, the BJP has been trying to buy our councillors. They still do not have the numbers to form a Standing Committee or Ward Committees, so they are indulging in this operation,” she said.
#WATCH | Delhi: On several councillors affiliated with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) resigned from the party membership, AAP leader Priyanka Kakkar says, “We had also told during the mayor election how the BJP had offered Rs 5 crore to our councillors to join their party. This time… pic.twitter.com/bo7oy7Ic0y
— ANI (@ANI) May 17, 2025
AAP claimed the defections were orchestrated by the BJP under the guise of an independent movement. “This is a BJP operation from start to finish. Just because we exposed their horse-trading last time, they’re now staging a drama with a new party name,” the party said in a statement.
Why did AAP 13 councillors break away?
The political tremor hit AAP’s Delhi unit when 13 sitting councillors announced their resignation and launched the Indraprastha Vikas Party, citing the failure of the AAP-led administration in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD). Mukesh Goel, a senior AAP leader and the former Leader of the House in the MCD, is leading the new outfit.
“We were in power for 2.5 years but no development work happened. Internal fights and lack of direction crippled the system,” Goel said. He added that the new party would focus exclusively on civic development and functioning of the MCD, without stepping into state-level politics.
‘We want to work for Delhi,’ say rebels
Councillor Himani Jain, another defector, echoed Goel’s concerns. “We were elected to serve, but nothing moved in the last two years. We are forming this new party to support whoever genuinely works for Delhi’s development,” she said.
The resignation of the 13 councillors reduces AAP’s strength in the 250-member MCD from 113 to 100. The BJP now holds 117 seats, while Congress has 8.
No legal barrier to defection
As municipal bodies like the MCD are not covered under the anti-defection law, the councillors face no legal action for switching sides. Meanwhile, the BJP has not yet officially responded to the allegations.