Delhi Speaker ditches AAP's broom for BJP's lotus

Delhi Assembly Speaker and former Aam Aadmi Party legislator M S Dhir on Friday joined the BJP alleging lack of democracy in team Arvind Kejriwal.

Sporting his trademark pink turban, Dhir, 62, who technically continues to be the Speaker despite the dissolution of the Assembly, said he was hurt by the way AAP convenor and former chief minister Arvind Kejriwal stepped down from the government and left the fight against corruption “midway”.

Saffron party leaders signalled that the process of politicians from other parties joining the Bharatiya Janata Party ahead of the Assembly polls without “preconditions” has just “begun”.

Names of former AAP legislator from Laxmi Nagar, V K Binny, and AAP leader and former Timarpur legislator Harish Khanna Timarpur were doing the rounds in the BJP office as the possible new entrants into the saffron party.

Along with Dhir, former captain of Indian Davis Cup tennis team Rohit Rajpal, 44, joined the BJP on Friday and the two claimed the leadership and governance of Narendra Modi had inspired them to do so. Flanked by Delhi BJP chief Satish Upadhyay and state party incharge Prabhat Jha, the two promised to serve the nation.