Delhi’s first transgender councillor, Bobi, has quit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to join the newly formed front of 15 rebel AAP councillors — the Vikas Party (IVP) — on Tuesday. The defection of the 40-year-old Bobi has now left the Aam Aadmi Party with only 97 councillors in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
In the 2022 MCD polls, AAP wrested power from the BJP by winning 134 councillor seats. However, the tables have turned — the BJP now holds a majority with 117 councillors, while the IVP has 16, and the Congress holds eight. The Bharatiya Janata Party also secured success in the recently concluded mayoral elections in Delhi.
Bobi’s political career received a boost when she was elected from Sultanpuri-A in December 2022 on an AAP ticket.
IVP’s Leadership
Bobi submitted her resignation letter in the presence of IVP leaders, namely Mukesh Goel, Hemchand Goyal, Sanjay Sharma, and Anil Rana. “For the last two and a half years, AAP leaders treated me like a bonded labourer,” said Bobi. “In 2022, I was elected on an AAP ticket, but despite being in power in the Delhi Municipal Corporation, the party’s top leadership was unable to run the MCD smoothly. There was no coordination between the leadership and the corporators, which led to the party going into opposition. Due to the party’s failure to fulfill its promises to the public, I am resigning from the primary membership of the Aam Aadmi Party,” she stated in her resignation letter.
Mukesh Goel, who recently served as AAP’s Leader of the House in the MCD, told the national press that many councillors from AAP have been contacting the IVP to join its membership.
“These corporators want to work for the public, but they are unable to do so, which is causing frustration. Unlike AAP, we will focus on public-centric issues. If the ruling party brings any proposal in the public’s interest, we will support it. Similarly, if the opposition raises valid concerns, we will support that too,” said Goel.
The anti-defection law is not applicable to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi elections. Therefore, the defection of councillors cannot be challenged on legal grounds. This poses a challenge for AAP, which also lost power in Delhi to the BJP in the February Assembly polls after a decade-long rule in the capital.
The anti-defection law, outlined in the Tenth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, aims to prevent political defections by disqualifying legislators who violate their party’s directives. This legislation was introduced in 1985 through the 52nd Amendment Act and is commonly known as the Anti-Defection Law. It was designed to bring political stability by discouraging elected representatives — either Members of Parliament (MPs) or Members of Legislative Assemblies (MLAs) — from switching parties during their term in office. However, this law does not apply to MCD elections.
MCD Elections
Delhi will witness its Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) elections on June 2, to fill two seats in its 18-member financial and policy-making Standing Committee. These seats became vacant following the resignation of two councillors who were elected as MLAs this February. On the same day, elections for the posts of Chairperson and Deputy Chairperson of all 12 zonal ward committees will also be held.
The two councillors who resigned had represented Wards 164 and 74 of the MCD and had served on the Standing Committee for the South Zone Ward Committee and the City-SP Zone Wards Committee, respectively.
The elections to fill these two Standing Committee seats were initially scheduled for May 21, but were postponed due to the military conflict between India and Pakistan, following the Pahalgam terror attack in Jammu and Kashmir. The rescheduled date — June 2 — falls on a Monday, and elections will be held through a secret ballot.
