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Shazia Ilmi joins BJP

by IBNS 16 Jan 2015, 12:13 am

New Delhi, Jan 16 (IBNS) Former Aam Admi Party leader and Shazia Ilmi on Friday joined the Bharatiya Janata Party a day after former IPS officer Kira Bedi was inducted into the party.

BJP President Amit Shah, who she had made earlier during the day, welcomed her into the party at a function.

"There is indeed a new political discourse in this country and we must all be a part of it," Ilmi, once a close associate of Aap chief Arvind Kejriwal said after the formal announcement.

She had quit AAP citing lack of inner democracy in the party. There was a move to bring her back into the party but instead, Ilmi got entangled in a twitter war with Kejriwal over the past few days, making it clear that things came to a dead end.

"We must create a new civic identity, we must think of ourselves as Indians. We must move towards positive politics, change the approach of lawlessness  and move towards development," she said.

Unlike Bedi, Ilmi, however, made clear that she wouldn't contest the Delhi Assembly elections. "I don't want to contest the elections and I think the party will respect my choice and not field me as a candidate," she said.

Ilmi said on Thursday that she was  disenchanted with the  Kejriwal-led party and that she would aggressively campaign against the Aap..

"I want to expose the AAP for what it is and so I will do whatever I can to that effect," she had said. 

"There are many AAP members and AAP volunteers, the people who are disenchanted with the party, people who feel have been short-changed by AAP," Ilmi had said.