'Kejriwal cheated Dalits": Ex-AAP MLA Anand joins BJP
Former Bahujan Samaj Party leader Raaj Kumar Anand—the social welfare minister in the Aam Aadmi Party government before joining Mayawati's party in May—was inducted into the Bharatiya Janata Party on Wednesday. He was welcomed into the BJP by Delhi President Virendra Sachdeva and National General Secretary Arun Singh. Anand's wife Veena, a former AAP MLA, along with three other AAP leaders—MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar, AAP councilor Umed Singh Phogat, and AAP leader Ratnesh Gupta—also joined the BJP.
Anand's accusations against Kejriwal
After joining the BJP, Anand accused Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal of "cheating and deceiving" Dalits. He claimed that during his time as a minister in Kejriwal's government, "no significant progress was made for the Dalit community." "When issues related to Dalit interests were raised with the Chief Minister, they were dismissed because Arvind Kejriwal was not interested in working for the community," he alleged.
Anand accuses Kejriwal of neglecting Dalit welfare
Anand claimed there was a scam in the Dalit Welfare Fund, which is why he quit from his position in the AAP government. He added that despite forming governments in Delhi and Punjab with Dalit support, CM Kejriwal did not appoint any Dalit as a Rajya Sabha MP. Expressing gratitude to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Minister Amit Shah, and BJP National President JP Nadda, Anand said it was a "matter of pride" to join the world's largest party.
Anand's switch from AAP, BSP to BJP
Anand, previously an MLA from Patel Nagar, left the AAP in April and joined the BSP in May this year. In November last year, Anand was subject to raids by the Directorate of Enforcement (ED) in relation to the alleged liquor policy scam. The ED reportedly searched around nine locations connected to Anand, including his official residence. Notably, Delhi is set to hold assembly elections early next year.
Delhi Assembly results
The AAP had won the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls with a landslide, securing 62 of the 70 seats—five less than its 2015 tally of 67. The BJP had secured eight seats, an improvement from its previous three, while the Congress failed to win any seats. Notably, the AAP and the Congress contested the Lok Sabha polls together under the umbrella of the Indian National Developmental Inclusive Alliance. The INDIA bloc failed to win any seats, with the dominating the polls.
