Another Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) corporator from Gujarat’s Surat joined forces with the state’s ruling party, the Bhartiya Janta Party (BJP), on Monday, February 14. Kundanben Kothiya claimed that the AAP party had insulted and harassed her.
Over the last two weeks, Kundanben Kothiya, a Surat Municipal Corporation corporator from ward no. 4, has become the sixth AAP corporator from Surat to join the ruling party. She was expelled from primary membership by Arvind Kejriwal’s party, which accused her of poor discipline.
“Despite being a committed party worker and a working corporator, baseless were leveled against me, and I was even suspended from AAP. I was falsely accused of circulating an audio clip. AAP leadership did nothing when I to them about harassment by another AAP hard corporator. Instead of justice, I received insults in the party,” alleged Kothiya.
Mahendra Navadiya, the president of the AAP in Surat, had suspended Kothiya from the party’s primary membership on Sunday, citing previous instances. On February 4, five AAP Surat city corporators defected to the BJP, citing ill-treatment and prejudice in their parent party.
In February of last year, the AAP won 27 seats in the SMC, marking the party’s first significant victory in Gujarat civic elections.
The BJP kept control of the local council after securing 93 seats, leaving the AAP as the only opposition party with 27 seats.
In the presence of Gujarat BJP general secretary Pradipsinh Vaghela, Kothiya joined the BJP at the party’s headquarters in Gandhinagar.
Edited by- Subbuthai Padma
Published by- Radhika N
