Arvinder Lovely, Amit Malik join BJP ahead of MCD polls

Mr Lovely was an important minister in the Sheila Dikshit-led Congress government that ruled Delhi for 15 years.

A former president of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee (DPCC) Lovely's shift to BJP is likely to give a major jolt to Congress's hopes in the MCD polls, which the party has been looking forward to as an opportunity to revive itself in the national capital.

"The child has died". "The current Delhi Congress chief (Maken) is not able to reach out to leaders as needed that is also a reason for people leaving".

Maken said the party is committed to make all the three corporations self-dependent in two years after coming to power through revenue generation from different areas including annual collections of Rs 500 crore from licence fees from vendors, Rs 1,600 crore from toll tax, utilisation of unused land and outdoor advertising.

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Rubbishing Lovely's reported attacks for the Gandhi family, Maken said that it was the last minute intervention of Sonia Gandhi that had prevented his sacking from Sheila Dikshit's government.

Earlier in the day, Lovely took the primary membership of the BJP in the presence of party president Amit Shah, Delhi BJP chief Manoj Tiwari and other senior party leaders. Congress, in its MCD poll manifesto, promised to provide unemployment allowance and regularisation of contractual sanitation workers. Apart from his allegations on MCD candidates, he also said he was upset because "no one listens". He was elected to the Delhi assembly from Gandhi Nagar seat for the first time in 1998 and had not lost a single election since then.

It's a tough battle. It now hopes to consolidate its hold in Delhi.

The Congress came out with four manifestos on the urban poor, primary health and education, fiscal management and sanitation for the April 23 elections.