face. Arvind Kejriwal’s Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has suffered a major setback in Surat, Gujarat. In Surat Municipal Corporation, 6 more AAP councilors switched over to BJP on Friday night. AAP councilors joined BJP in the presence of Gujarat Home Minister Harsh Sanghvi. Earlier, 4 councilors of AAP had joined BJP. 27 AAP councilors were elected in Surat Municipal Corporation. Arvind Kejriwal had called it a big achievement. Now only 17 councilors of AAP are left in the municipality. At the same time, the BJP had earlier 93 councilors in the 120-member municipality. The six corporators who left AAP and joined BJP are Swati Ben Kayada, Nirali Patel, Ashok Dhami, Kiran Bhai Khokhani, Ghanshyam Makwana and Dharmendra Bavaliya.
#WATCH , Gujarat: 6 AAP corporators from Surat joined BJP in the presence of state Home Minister Harsh Sanghavi (14/04) pic.twitter.com/Glc2jZAVPU
— ANI (@ANI) April 15, 2023
Earlier, councilors named Ruta Ben Kheni, Jyoti Ben Lathia, Bhavna Ben Solanki and Vipul Mowlia had left AAP and joined BJP. Surat Municipal Corporation elections were held in 2020. Arvind Kejriwal, who was happy with the victory of AAP’s councilors in these elections held in Surat, had expressed happiness over the burglary in BJP’s stronghold. He later also claimed that there was a storm of change in Gujarat and AAP would win the state assembly elections and form the government. His claim also proved wrong and once again BJP formed the government in Gujarat.
After the arrival of AAP councillors, BJP has said that whoever respects our ideology is welcome in the party. The special thing is that on Friday itself, the CBI issued summons to Arvind Kejriwal to appear in the liquor scam case. After 10 councilors defected to BJP, it is now considered a big challenge for AAP to keep the remaining 17 councilors together.