Kailash Gehlot left AAP and joined BJP, know what will be the impact
#News Bureau November 18,2024
Kailash Gehlot joined the BJP a day after quitting the Aam Aadmi Party. The former Delhi Transport Minister was among the most senior leaders of the ruling Aam Aadmi Party till Sunday. Gehlot joined the BJP on Monday morning in the presence of Union Ministers ML Khattar and Harsh Malhotra. Khattar described Gehlot’s joining as a ‘turning point’, especially ahead of the elections in February. AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal said Gehlot is free to take his own decisions and can go wherever he wants.
The resignation of Gehlot, who was an important minister in the Kejriwal government, ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections in February is being considered a major setback for the Aam Aadmi Party. There are many reasons behind this, but the two major reasons are that he is originally from Delhi and is a Jat leader and has been the architect of many schemes of the AAP government.
There is concern within the AAP that Gehlot’s departure will disrupt several key projects. He was looking after the ‘Mahila Samman Rashi’ project, which was one of the main announcements of the Delhi government in this year’s budget and was going to be the main point of the AAP’s assembly election campaign.
Under the scheme, women aged 18 years and above will get Rs 1000 every month. It is reported that Gehlot was holding several meetings with officials and asking them to speed up the implementation of the scheme. Gehlot was working on plans like ‘Pink Pass’, ‘Mukhyamantri Teerth Yatra Yojana’, ‘Electric Vehicle Policy’, and introduction of bus marshals and hi-tech security systems in buses for the safety of women and bringing in more women bus drivers. As Transport Minister, Gehlot is also credited with starting the electric bus revolution in the national capital and electrification of bus depots, playing a key role in adding over 1000 e-buses to the city’s old bus fleet.
Gehlot is a Jat leader who hails from Mitraon village in Delhi. He comes from a farmer family. He studied law from Delhi University and practised in the Delhi High Court. He was an executive member of the Bar Association of the High Court from 2005 to 2007 and also of the Supreme Court.
Kailash Gehlot joined AAP in 2015 and became the Jat face of the party. He got a ticket for the assembly elections the same year and won from Najafgarh by a narrow margin of 1550 votes.
He won the seat again in 2020 by more than 6000 votes. Before becoming a cabinet minister, he ran a trust in his father’s name to educate the youth of Najafgarh.
It is believed that the BJP will now use Kailash Gehlot’s resignation and the comments made by him in the election campaign against the Aam Aadmi Party. The BJP has also said in a tweet that everyone is going to run away from Kejriwal’s sinking boat.
In his resignation letter sent to Arvind Kejriwal on Sunday, Gehlot cited unfulfilled promises and recent controversies as the reason for leaving the party. Gehlot, an MLA from Najafgarh, resigned from the Council of Ministers, which was accepted by Delhi Chief Minister Atishi. In his resignation letter, Gehlot has accused the party of not fulfilling major promises.
He pointed to the unfulfilled promise of cleaning the Yamuna river, calling it a promise made by the party to the voters. He wrote, ‘We promised the people a clean Yamuna, but we failed to fulfill that promise.’ He also mentioned the controversy over Arvind Kejriwal’s new official residence. He said, ‘There are many embarrassing and bizarre issues like Sheesh Mahal, due to which people are now questioning whether we still believe in being a party of the common man.’
On Gehlot’s resignation, senior AAP leader Durgesh Pathak said that the former Delhi minister was being questioned by central investigating agencies like ED and Income Tax Department for several months. He said Gehlot was not able to withstand the pressure and decided to leave the party.
