The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Friday accused the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) of poaching its councillors, claiming that the BJP is attempting to gain control of the Standing and Ward Committees after 13 AAP councillors resigned.

In an official statement, AAP alleged, “Since the mayoral elections, the BJP has been trying to poach our councillors, even offering them Rs 5 crore each, as the saffron party lacks a majority in the Standing Committee.”

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“Because we exposed the BJP’s horse-trading attempts during the mayoral election itself, they are now staging a drama by pretending these defections are from another party,” the statement added.

Warning the BJP against engaging in horse-trading, the party further said, “This is a BJP-sponsored event, and the truth will come out in the coming days—it cannot be hidden for long.”

Notably, Mukesh Goyal, who was the Leader of the Party in the previous tenure, has emerged as the prominent rebel leader. He claims to have the support of 15 AAP councillors.

Goyal has also announced plans to launch a new political outfit titled the Indraprastha Vikas Party, citing stalled development projects and growing internal discontent within AAP.