Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MP Sanjay Singh has alleged that seven of the party's elected legislators were approached by individuals linked to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) with offers of ₹15 crore each to defect from AAP and join the BJP. Singh made these accusations during a press conference on Thursday, just a day after the polling for the Delhi Assembly elections concluded on February 5, 2025. Without naming specific MLAs, Singh claimed that the BJP was resorting to "unethical tactics" to engineer defections in an attempt to undermine AAP before the results of the election were officially declared.
The senior AAP leader argued that the BJP's actions were a clear indication that the party had already conceded defeat in the Delhi elections even before the counting of votes on February 8. "The BJP has accepted its defeat even before the counting of votes, and like the rest of the country, they have now begun playing the dirty game of breaking parties in Delhi as well," he stated. Singh accused the BJP of engaging in "Operation Lotus"—a term often used by opposition parties to describe alleged poaching attempts by the ruling party at the center.
AAP has instructed its MLAs to remain vigilant against such offers and report any instances of political horse-trading. Singh revealed that the party had advised the legislators to record all conversations in which they were approached with financial inducements and, if possible, capture videos of such interactions using hidden cameras. "We have asked our MLAs to record the calls they receive and, if anyone approaches them in person, to make a hidden camera recording as evidence," Singh asserted.
The controversy comes in the wake of reports that on February 1, 2025, eight former AAP MLAs, who were denied party tickets for the Delhi Assembly elections, joined the BJP. These leaders cited allegations of corruption within AAP and deviations from the party’s founding principles as their reasons for switching sides. AAP has dismissed these claims, arguing that the BJP is luring disgruntled leaders with lucrative offers to weaken the party ahead of the election results.
The BJP has not yet issued an official response to Singh’s allegations. However, in previous instances when similar accusations were made, the party had strongly denied any involvement in political defections, calling them baseless and fabricated. In December 2024, AAP had made a similar claim that one of its senior leaders, Rituraj Jha, was offered ₹25 crore to switch sides, which the BJP dismissed as a "desperate attempt to gain public sympathy."
As the political battle intensifies, AAP has urged the Election Commission of India (ECI) to take cognizance of these developments and ensure that the electoral process remains free from coercion and corruption. The party has also called upon investigative agencies to probe the matter thoroughly and expose any illicit attempts to manipulate the election results through backdoor deals.
With just a few days left until the results are announced, the political atmosphere in Delhi remains charged, with both parties making strategic moves to consolidate their positions. The allegations of bribery and defections have only added to the already heated political contest between AAP and the BJP, with the stakes higher than ever for control over the capital’s governance.
