Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Municipal Councilor Vikas Tank, a young Valmiki community leader, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Wednesday in the presence of the Delhi state unit chief of the party Harsh Malhotra, and Chandni Chowk MP Praveen Khandelwal.Delhi
Welcoming Taank to party fold, Delhi BJP media head Praveen Shankar Kapoor pointed out that the three-time Municipal Councillor from an Old Delhi ward enjoys immense popularity not only within the Valmiki community but also across his constituency.
Only last week, the Indraprastha Vikas Party, which had emerged after 16 municipal councilors parted ways with the AAP last year, formally merged with the BJP with its councilors. Taank’s move further strengthened the saffron party in the civic body.
Malhotra welcomed Tank into the BJP by draping him with the party’s stole and enrolling him as a member through the party’s missed-call membership campaign, and offering him sweets.
Now, the saffron party’s strength in the civic body has risen to 140 councilors.
Addressing the press conference held at the Delhi BJP office, the Delhi BJP chief said with the party now in power both in the MCD and the Delhi government, development works across the national capital are progressing at a rapid pace.
He further said that ever since Rekha Gupta assumed office as the Chief Minister, her government began strengthening the financial position of the Municipal Corporation. Civic works, including the installation of compactors at garbage collection points, improved maintenance and cleaning of parks, and cleanliness and development works in neighbourhood lanes and roads across the city, are being carried out regularly.
Taking a dig at the previous AAP government, Malhotra said everyone witnessed how development work in Delhi had come to a standstill when AAP was in power, back in the day.
Speaking on the occasion, Taank said before coming to power in the municipal corporation, the AAP had made several promises but failed to fulfil any even its commitment to eliminate Delhi’s garbage mountains.
He alleged that the party failed to allow the House to function smoothly, claiming that councilors were under pressure to not carry out developmental work, which ultimately led many of them to leave AAP, one after the other.