New Delhi, 28 April (H.S.): Rajya Sabha MP and former Chairperson of the Delhi Commission for Women, Swati Maliwal, has formally completed the formalities of joining the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) at the Delhi party headquarters. In a simple ceremony at the Delhi BJP office, she took party membership in the presence of Delhi BJP chief Virendra Sachdeva, Union Minister of State Harsh Malhotra, and Delhi BJP MP Yogendra Chandolia, marking the latest high‑profile addition to the ruling party after a group of seven Rajya Sabha members shifted allegiance from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Maliwal told reporters that the day was “very significant” and emotional for her, saying she had drawn inspiration from Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP’s work to decide to join the party. “I have always been interested in the BJP’s activities,” she said, adding that during her tenure as head of the Delhi Women’s Commission she received strong cooperation from BJP‑led structures and now intends to work “even more passionately” for the people of Delhi.

Addressing her earlier association with AAP, Maliwal launched a sharp critique of the party, alleging that it has become synonymous with “drama, lies, deceit, goon‑ism and corruption.” She accused AAP’s founding leader, Arvind Kejriwal, of having “plundered Delhi for the last 10 years” and claimed the capital’s basic infrastructure—roads, water supply and governance—had been allowed to fall into serious disrepair under his rule.

The new BJP member credited the current Delhi government, headed by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, with having already made notable improvements in governance over the past two years, though she stressed “much more work remains to be done.” Maliwal pledged that she would now work shoulder‑to‑shoulder with the BJP to “fix the remaining ground‑level gaps” and accused AAP of “unorganised politics” that has left ordinary citizens frustrated and disillusioned.

Maliwal’s move comes a day after Rajya Sabha Chairman C.P. Radhakrishnan cleared the merger of seven AAP‑nominated Rajya Sabha members—including Maliwal—into the BJP, completing a coordinated realignment that has significantly boosted the ruling alliance’s numbers in the Upper House. With her entry, the BJP has effectively absorbed a key voice from Delhi’s women‑rights and anti‑corruption discourse, while AAP loses one of its most prominent women MPs in the capital.

---------------

Hindusthan Samachar / Jun Sarkar