Alka Lamba, Former AAP Leader, Joins Congress Days After Meeting Sonia Gandhi

Former AAP MLA Alka Lamba on Saturday joined the Congress party in presence of party leader, PC Chacko. Lamba, who started her political career with the Congress and was in the party for about 20 years before joining the AAP, last month announced that she had made up her mind about leaving Delhi’s ruling party and contesting the upcoming Assembly election as an Independent.

She has been at odds with the AAP for a while. After the party’s defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, she had sought accountability from its national convener Kejriwal. She was then removed from the official WhatsApp group of the party’s lawmakers.

She had also refused to campaign for the party in the Lok Sabha polls and did not participate in Kejriwal’s roadshow after she was asked to walk behind his car during the event.

Lamba first hit a rough patch when she objected to the party’s decision to pass a resolution to revoke Rajiv Gandhi’s Bharat Ratna.

In December 2018, she said in a tweet that AAP had asked her to support the resolution, which she refused. Lamba then added that she was ready to face any punishment for her actions.

Earlier, Lamba had met Congress president Sonia Gandhi. "I stayed away from the Congress for six years but I always stood firm on its ideology. Today I have returned to the Congress. As a member of the Congress, I will work towards strengthening the party," she had told reporters outside Gandhi's residence.

The MLA from Chandni Chowk had asked the AAP leadership to accept her resignation on Twitter and said it had now become the "Khas Aadmi Party". She took a swipe at AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj who had said the party would accept her resignation even on Twitter.

"@ArvindKejriwal Ji, your spokespersons asked me as per your desire, with the full arrogance that the Party will accept My resignation even on the Twitter. So pls Kindly accept My resignation from the primary membership of the 'Aam Aadmi Party', which is now a 'Khas Aadmi Party'," she had said on Twitter.