Some members of BJP’s ‘Pandit Prakoshth’ join AAP’s ‘Sanatana Sewa Samiti’, claims Kejriwal

PTI, Jan 8, 2025, 4:37 PM IST

New Delhi: AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal on Monday claimed that some members of the BJP’s ‘Pandit Prakoshth’ (Priest Cell) joined his party’s ‘Sanatana Sewa Samiti’ ahead of Delhi assembly elections.

Delhi goes to polls on February 5 and votes will be counted on February 8.

In a press conference, Kejriwal said those who quit the BJP’s Pandit Prakoshth to join AAP include Vijay Sharma, Jitendra Sharma, Brijesh Sharma, Manish Gupta, Dushyant Sharma and Udaykant Jha among others.

Party leaders who were present on the occasion included Manish Sisodia, Sanjay Singh and Saurabh Bharadwaj.

On Monday, the AAP chief had announced that his party would launch a ‘Pujari Granthi Samman Yojana’ if it gets re-elected in Delhi. He promised a monthly allowance of Rs 18,000 for Hindu temple priests and granthis of gurdwaras.

After welcoming the new members, the former Delhi chief minister said, “I am happy that we started the education and health revolution and now we are starting this revolution for our priests.” He further claimed that AAP fulfils all its promises unlike the BJP. “We will provide Rs 18,000 to our priests as promised under the guidance of these priests,” he added.

The upcoming elections are a crucial test for AAP as it is aiming for the third consecutive full term in Delhi.