NEW DELHI, May 17: In a noteworthy setback for the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), fifteen municipal councillors in Delhi have resigned from the party and announced the formation of a new political outfit — the Indraprastha Vikas Party — intensifying the turmoil within the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
The breakaway group will be led by Hemchand Goel, with senior former AAP councillors Mukesh Goel, Himani Jain, Devindra Kumar, Rajesh Kumar Ladi, Suman Anil Rana, Dinesh Bhardwaj, Runakshi Sharma, Manisha, Sahib Kumar, Rakhi Yadav, Usha Sharma, and Ashok Pandey among the prominent figures steering the rebellion.
Among them, Mukesh Goel’s resignation carries particular weight, as he previously held the influential post of Leader of the House in the MCD. “We have launched the Indraprastha Vikas Party because we were not able to do any public work for the past year or two. The House never functions smoothly due to constant disruptions,” Goel said, adding that more councillors could soon join the new platform.
Goel had contested the Delhi Assembly elections earlier this year on an AAP ticket but failed to secure a win. Despite the group’s announcement naming 15 councillors, only 13 were present for the formal declaration; two names were withheld as they were not physically present to sign the joint resignation letter.
In their resignation letter addressed to the party, the councillors wrote: “All of us Municipal Councillors were elected in the Delhi Municipal Corporation in 2022 on the ticket of the Aam Aadmi Party. But despite coming to power, the top leadership failed to run the Corporation smoothly.” They further pointed to a lack of internal dialogue, stating, “Coordination between the top leadership and the Municipal Councillors was negligible, due to which the party went into opposition.”
Citing an inability to fulfill public promises, they declared their collective resignation from AAP’s primary membership.
This wave of defections adds to a series of recent exits from AAP within the civic body. In February, the BJP emerged as the largest party in the MCD after three AAP councillors — Anita Basoya, Nikhil Chaprana, and Dharmveer Singh — crossed over. A similar episode occurred in September last year, just ahead of a key standing committee vote, when three more councillors defected to the BJP.
Facing mounting instability, AAP recently pulled out of the April 25 mayoral election, effectively clearing the path for the BJP to assume control of the MCD.
The new party, Indraprastha Vikas Party, is expected to position itself as a local force focused on governance and civic development, though its future alliances and electoral ambitions remain to be seen.
