Kejriwal Treated Us As ‘Use and Throw’: AAP MLA Rajesh Gupta Joins BJP Ahead Of Delhi Bypolls

Rajesh Gupta, two-time MLA, left Aam Aadmi Party for BJP before MCD by-elections, criticizing Arvind Kejriwal and citing ill-treatment.(Image: NDTV)

Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader and two-time MLA Rajesh Gupta joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Saturday, just a day before the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) by-elections. He was formally inducted into the party by Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva, who welcomed him with the traditional party stole in the presence of MLA Rajkumar Bhatia and media head Praveen Shankar Kapoor.

Gupta launched a scathing attack on AAP national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal, accusing him of treating party workers as “use and throw.” He said this mindset was the primary reason behind the AAP’s decline. The former MLA became emotional while recalling his years of work for the party and the “ill-treatment” he claimed to have received from Kejriwal. His immediate trigger for leaving, he said, was the allocation of a municipal poll ticket to a candidate who had previously been issued a notice by AAP.

Sachdeva praised Gupta for establishing himself as a responsible MLA and said Kejriwal had failed to recognise his contributions. He added that Kejriwal’s absence from Delhi and the circumstances of his departure “deserve close examination.”
Gupta echoed this sentiment, saying that many prominent figures had joined AAP during its early years, only to be “betrayed” by Kejriwal. “One by one, they all chose to leave him. Today, unfortunately, I have also joined that list,” he said.

The Delhi BJP chief hit out strongly at the AAP government, alleging that Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and other senior leaders had “harmed Delhi” and were now “comfortably settled in Punjab.” He claimed the AAP had pushed the capital into a poor state over the last 12 years, leaving the new BJP government to shoulder the burden.

Gupta’s defection comes at a crucial time for the BJP, with 53 candidates contesting 12 MCD seats in Sunday’s by-elections. The BJP previously held nine of the 12 wards. The bypolls carry significant political weight, marking the first electoral contest in Delhi since the BJP’s return to power in the assembly elections after 27 years.