New Delhi:  Elections for the zone-level ward committees of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) are just a few days away. Meanwhile, the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in the civic body have claimed that each other's councillors are ready to switch sides. The MCD announced voting for the long-pending ward committee elections on Wednesday as these elections are necessary for the formation of the permanent committee.

Ward committee elections in 12 zones on September 4

The standing committee is the highest decision-making body of the corporation which is important for approving expenditure proposals of Rs 5 crore or more. Ward committee elections in the 12 zones of the corporation will be held through a secret ballot on September 4. A senior AAP official has said that six councillors are likely to join the party in the next few days.

AAP leader made this claim

The party suffered a jolt when five of its councillors joined the BJP on Sunday. "Some BJP councillors will join our party in the next few days. Two of our councillors are returning to the party, while at least four BJP councillors may join us," an AAP functionary said. The councillors who joined the BJP are Ramchandra (Ward 28), Pawan Sehrawat (Ward 30), Mamta Pawan (Ward 177), Sugandha Bidhuri (Ward 178) and Manju Nirmal (Ward 180). However, one of them, Ramchandra, returned to the AAP on Thursday. The anti-defection law is currently not in force in the MCD.

BJP leader made this claim

A senior state BJP functionary said councillors who want development in their wards are looking towards the BJP with hope as AAP's "corruption" has hampered civic work. He said five AAP councillors recently quit the party as they were feeling "suffocated due to corruption" there. "There are many AAP councillors who are frustrated with the party's style of functioning and are thinking of quitting the party for the first time. Our doors are open for those who wish to work for the people of Delhi," he said.