BJP leader Pravesh Ratan joins AAP ahead of Delhi assembly elections

NEW DELHI: BJP leader Pravesh Ratan, who unsuccessfully contested the Patel Nagar reserved constituency in the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls, joined the Aam Aadmi Party on Wednesday. Ratan, who belongs to the Jatav community, joined the AAP in the presence of senior leaders Manish Sisodia and Durgesh Pathak at the party's headquarters here.

The move comes months after AAP leader and former MLA from Patel Nagar Raaj Kumar Anand joined the BJP. Anand resigned as minister in the Delhi government and quit AAP in April. He was later disqualified as MLA by the Delhi Assembly Speaker.

In July, Anand joined the BJP alongwith another AAP MLA Kartar Singh Tanwar.


Ratan who contested the 2020 Delhi polls as a BJP candidate was defeated by Anand by over 30,000 votes. In the Assembly polls due in February 2025, the two leaders may be again pitted against one another as candidates of their new parties.

Ratan said he was inspired by AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal and the way he helped people, especially those belonging to the weaker sections, save money because of free facilities provided by the AAP government.