In a setback to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on the eve of the MCD bypolls, senior leader and former two-time MLA Rajesh Gupta joined the BJP in Delhi on Saturday.

Delhi AAP president Saurabh Bharadwaj, in a post on X, extended well wishes to his former party colleague. Bharadwaj said Gupta had sought a ticket from the Ashok Vihar ward for his wife and quit the party after his demand was not met.

Gupta, who was also a national spokesperson of the AAP and in-charge of the party's Karnataka unit, joined the BJP in the presence of its Delhi president Virendra Sachdeva. He had also served as a vice president of the Aam Aadmi Party.

Sachdeva welcomed Gupta into the BJP fold by offering him the party's stole, according to a statement from the Delhi BJP.

The MCD bypolls on Sunday, covering 12 wards, will be a test of voters’ mood in the national capital after the BJP’s strong performance in the assembly elections earlier this year.

Gupta spoke about his reasons for leaving AAP. He said, “Today, unfortunately, I have also joined that list.” He claimed that the “biggest reason” behind the “downfall” of the AAP and its leader, Arvind Kejriwal, was treating workers in a “use and throw” manner.

“While joining the BJP, Rajesh Gupta became emotional as he recalled his contributions to AAP, the mockery he received in return, and the behaviour of AAP leader Arvind Kejriwal. He even broke down in tears. When AAP was founded, many prominent individuals enthusiastically joined hands with Arvind Kejriwal, but he ‘betrayed everyone’, and one by one, they all chose to leave him,” Gupta said in the statement.

On the Ashok Vihar ward, he alleged, “AAP has given a ticket to a person for the bypoll who has been issued a notice by the party itself. Despite my years of sincerity, honesty and loyalty, when I raised concerns, the party president wasn't even ready to talk to me. This is the situation when the party is neither in power in the Delhi government nor in the MCD. Treating workers as ‘use and throw’ is the biggest reason behind Arvind Kejriwal and AAP's decline.”

Bharadwaj responded by saying that AAP and its national convener decided to field only party workers in the MCD bypolls.

“The party fielded him as MLA four times. This time, he could not win the Assembly election. For the ward election he was seeking a councillor ticket for his wife. The party, with a heavy heart, decided that we were unable to give him the ticket,” he said.

The Delhi AAP chief also alleged that Gupta reacted by fielding an independent candidate in Ashok Vihar ward and shared internal party matters with another organisation.

Sachdeva said that Rajesh Gupta had created a distinct identity for himself as a responsible MLA, but Arvind Kejriwal failed to value that identity.

He added that with Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia missing entirely, AAP leaders Atishi and Gopal Rai are merely making “special appearances” in Delhi during the bypoll campaigns.