Three Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) councillors switched sides to the saffron party on Sunday evening in the national capital, amove that coincided with the resignation of BJP’s Chandigarh Mayor, Manoj Sonkar, on the eve of the Supreme Court’s hearing in the Chandigarh mayoral election case. Sonkar cited “moral grounds” for his resignation a day before the matter was scheduled for a hearing by the top court.

Three AAP Chandigarh councillors — Punam Devi, Neha Musawat, and Gurcharan Kala — joined the BJP in the presence of the party’s national general secretary Vinod Tawde.

Also Read:BJP’s Manoj Sonkar resigns as Chandigarh Mayor ahead of Supreme Court’s hearing

This strategic move by the BJP is expected to give them an edge over the AAP-Congress coalition whenever fresh mayoral elections will be held following Sonkar’s resignation.

Tawde said that the Chandigarh councillors joined the BJP due to dissatisfaction with their treatment in the AAP. “Chandigarh councillors Punam Devi, Neha Musawat, and Gurcharan Kala have joined BJP today. They are unhappy with the behaviour of their party with them. BJP will respect them and they will help in the development of Chandigarh,” he told ANI.

Neha Musawat, one of the councillors who joined the saffron party, alleged AAP of making false promises .”Today after getting inspired by the work of PM Modi, I have joined BJP,” Musawat said.

Also Read:BJP wins Chandigarh mayor election against AAP-Congress combine, upset for INDIA bloc

Meanwhile, Punam Devi, who joined the BJP said that she joined BJP after getting inspired from the work done by PM Modi.”I joined the BJP after getting inspired from the works done by PM Modi… I have left AAP because they are a fake party,” Devi said.

The third councillor who joined the BJP, Gurcharan Kala said, “I belonged to BJP and I will also be with BJP… I have joined the party after getting inspired by the work of PM Modi.”

On February 5, the Supreme Court strongly criticised the Returning Officer responsible for the Chandigarh Mayor elections, accusing him of “murdering democracy.” The court ordered the preservation of the entire record of the election process, including ballot papers, videography, and other material, through the Registrar General of Punjab and Haryana High Court.

A bench of Chief Justice of India DY Chandrachud and Justices JB Pardiwala and Manoj Misra expressed shock at the defacement of the ballot papers by the returning officer, calling it a “mockery of democracy” and an “appalling” act.