On Saturday, three AAP councillors joined the BJP, boosting the party’s position ahead of the upcoming MCD mayoral election. Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva welcomed them and stated that the city would soon have a "triple engine" government, with the BJP governing the Centre, assembly and municipal levels, which will help create a capital of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision for a 'Viksit Bharat'.

The three AAP councillors who switched to the BJP are Anita Basoya from Andrews Ganj, Nikhil Chaprana from Hari Nagar and Dharamvir from R.K. Puram.

Delhi BJP president Virendra Sachdeva stated that these councillors joined the party to contribute to making Delhi a cleaner and more beautiful city.

After its decisive victory in the recent Assembly elections, where it secured 48 out of 70 seats and ended AAP’s decade-long rule, the BJP aims to establish a "triple-engine government" by winning the mayoral election scheduled for April.

In the last mayoral election held in November 2024, the AAP won by a narrow margin of three votes. The upcoming election will see participation from Delhi’s seven Lok Sabha MPs (all from the BJP), three Rajya Sabha MPs (all from AAP) and 14 nominated MLAs, who will vote for the mayor and deputy mayor of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.

With the addition of the three councillors, the BJP has a numerical advantage over AAP in the MCD.

According to BJP leaders, the party will have 10 MLAs nominated to the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), while AAP will have four MLAs nominated.

In the Assembly elections held on February 5, eight BJP councillors and three AAP councillors won seats.

During the 2022 MCD elections, AAP secured victory in 134 wards, while the BJP won 104. The Congress managed to win nine wards, and independent candidates won three.