Kapil Mishra, who was formerly a key member of the Arvind Kejriwal government in Delhi, on Saturday formally joined the BJP. Mishra had been disqualified under the provisions of the anti-defection law by Delhi Assembly speaker Niwas Goel earlier this month.
Mishra joined the BJP in the presence of senior Delhi BJP leaders Vijay Goel and Manoj Tiwari.
Mishra, a minister in Kejriwal's government, drifted apart from the chief minister after he was removed from his post in May 2017. Mishra had been the MLA for Karawal Nagar and was water resources minister in the AAP government.
Mishra was removed after he criticised Kejriwal and levelled corruption charges against him. Mishra also flaunted his proximity to BJP leaders in Delhi and shared the stage with them at events.
Two other AAP MLAs—Devender Sehrawat and Anil Bajpai—who joined the BJP during the Lok Sabha poll campaign are also facing disqualification from the Assembly.
Mishra is arguably the most high-profile AAP leader to join the BJP after Shazia Ilmi, a national executive member, joined the saffron party in 2015. Mishra joining the BJP is expected to heat up political equations in Delhi ahead of next year's Assembly polls.
