'AAP volunteers' join Delhi BJP as rumours of rift gather strength

Several “AAP volunteers” on Tuesday joined the Delhi unit of BJP which has been accused to have been trying to woo the AAP members.

Welcoming the new entrants in the party fold, Delhi BJP chief Adesh Gupta said that AAP volunteers quit the party in "protest" over charges of corruption in excise policy against the Kejriwal government in Delhi.

Facing a CBI probe in the Delhi excise policy, Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia had on Monday claimed that he was "offered the CM's post" by the BJP and closure of all cases if he quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joined the saffron outfit.

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The BJP and AAP have been locking horns over "irregularities" in the liquor policy of the Delhi government.

The matter is under probe by the CBI, which has over the past few days raided several officers’ places, including that of Sisodia’s, for incriminating elements.

"Several office bearers of AAP, including its East Delhi Lok Sabha unit in-charge Chandra Ketu Mishra, have joined the BJP. They quit the AAP, troubled by scams and corruption of the Kejriwal government," the Delhi BJP president said.

Sisodia had earlier alleged that the BJP has been using the CBI to stop Arvind Kejriwal, who has been on a victorious run in the national capital and has emerged as a strong alternative to Modi for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.