Former mayor Pradeep Chhabra, who recently joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Chander Mukhi Sharma, party in-charge for the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections; wiped out the Congress in the capital by getting various Congress office-bearers and hundreds of volunteers to join the AAP. This is considered a major setback for the Chandigarh Congress ahead of the municipal elections. The Congress leaders and volunteers were formally welcomed by AAP’s Chandigarh affairs in-charge and MLA Jarnail Singh, party’s Chandigarh president Prem Garg, Punjab MLA Kulwant Singh Pandori and general secretary Harchand Singh Barsat at the party headquarters here on Wednesday.Welcoming the Congress leaders on the occasion, Jarnail Singh said, “After Delhi, the Congress is zero in Chandigarh.” He said the people across the country were joining the AAP due to the pro-people policies and social reform activities of AAP National Convener and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.AAP Chandigarh leader and former mayor Pradeep Chhabra said, “In the Chandigarh Municipal Corporation elections, the Congress and the BJP will be completely wiped out and Chandigarh will be made Congress and BJP free.”
Criticizing the Congress party, he said the Chandigarh Congress had become a party of corrupt people. “Hardworking workers and leaders are not valued in the Congress; there is just a private company of a family, which is why the Chandigarh leaders are resigning from the Congress party,” he added.Pradeep Chhabra further said that he was impressed by the simplicity and policies of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. “Kejriwal's simple life is an example to the country's leaders,” he said. Chhabra said that Arvind Kejriwal was bringing change in politics and the people of Chandigarh were becoming a part of this political change.He said the presidents and senior leaders of various wings of the Chandigarh Congress have joined the Aam Aadmi Party, including Congress general secretary Sandeep Bhardwaj, secretary Mushak Ali and Praveen Dugal Vishu, joint secretary Kuldeep Kumar, vice-president Rakesh Soni, SC Wing vice-president Kanwaljit Singh Sidhu, DCC general secretary Jagdeep Mahajan, vice-president Dinesh Sharma, chairman RTI Cell Gagandeep Singh Ahluwalia, DCC vice-president Beant Singh and Surinder Singh, former secretary Harwinder Goldy, block president Harjinder Bawa and Mohinder Rajbhar, treasurer Gurdeep Singh, general secretary Ram Krishan, Brij Mohan Meena, Sukhbir Singh Sukhi, Vishal Kumar Sherry, Sonu Kumar, Sanjay Arora, Kanika Khatri, Jasbir Singh, Vikramjit Singh , Rohit Kumar, Sarika Kanojia, Virender Pal Singh, Mohinder, Krishan Lal, Davinder Kumar, Rakesh Gill and Sanjeev Arora.