Delhi: Senior Congress leader Mukesh Goel joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday.
Along with Goel, about a dozen office-bearers of the Congress, including two-time former councillor Parma Bhai Solanki, also joined the AAP in the presence of Deputy Chief Minister and senior party leader Manish Sisodia.
Taking to Twitter, the AAP described the development as a "big jolt" to the Congress ahead of the civic polls in Delhi.
"It is a very happy occasion that our AAP family is expanding further. Goelji, who is joining us along with his supporters, is a big Congress leader," news agency PTI quoted Sisodia as saying.
Welcoming the other leaders into the party, Sisodia said the development indicates a trend where Congress leaders, who want to work for people, are joining the AAP as they are impressed by the policies and work done under the leadership of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.
Who is Mukesh Goel?
Mukesh Goel is a five-time municipal councillor from the North Delhi Municipal Corporation. Goel, who is serving his fifth term as a municipal councillor in the national capital, was a member of the All India Congress Committee (AICC). He was also the chairman of the standing committee of the corporation. Currently, he is a corporator from Sarai Pipal Thala.
After joining the AAP, Goel was all prasies for Kejriwal. "Arvind Kejriwal's model of development is being discussed today not just in Delhi but all over the country," he said. "I am quitting the Congress and joining the AAP as I do not consider it right to oppose a party that is working in the interest of people," he added.
(With PTI inputs)
