Just in the run-up to key polls to elect six members of the Standing Committee of Delhi’s civic body, Pawan Sehrawat, a councilor from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), has dealt his party a devastating blow on Friday by joining the AAP's arch-enemy, the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
The councilor from the affluent Bawana area of the national capital reportedly said that he felt “suffocated” because of the alleged corruption in the AAP. He also alleged that he was cajoled into create mayhem in the House.
Sehrawat was welcomed into the BJP fold by the party’s Delhi unit working president Virendra Sachdeva and general secretary Harsh Malhotra.
Chaos at Delhi Civic Body
Chaotic scenes were witnessed at Delhi Civic Centre on Wednesday evening during the elections of members of the Standing Committee, considered to be the most powerful body in the unified civic body of Delhi. BJP councilors demanded that the poll process be stopped and restarted, alleging that some AAP members were carrying cellphones during the voting.
The AAP rejected the charges and newly elected Mayor Shelly Oberoi claimed that some BJP members “attacked” her.
The ruckus in the House continued until Thursday morning at which point Oberoi adjourned the proceedings until Friday.
During the riot, AAP and BJP members shouted slogans at each other and exchanged blows. Media reports said that ballot boxes were also thrown into the well and the proceedings of the House were adjourned 13 times.