The crushing defeat in the Delhi Municipal Corporation polls seems to have taken a strain on current Delhi CM Arvind Kejriwal, if his recent statements are anything to go by. 

Amid massive disquiet within the party, with many senior leaders quitting or threatening to quit the Aam Admi Party, the AAP chief has asked the 48 newly elected municipal candidates from the party to swear an oath of allegiance. 

“With God as my witness, I pledge never to ditch this pure party or betray the (anti-corruption) movement,” Kejriwal recently said in a meeting with lawmakers on Thursday. He has also asked the MLAS to pledge similar oaths of loyalty to the ‘pavitra’ (pure) party and to continue on the path of anti-corruption. 

At a meeting of councillors, Kejriwal told the newly elected candidates to stay wary of BJP: 

“No anti-defection law governs the corporations. So the BJP will try to lure you away. Always keep your phones on recording mode so that you can expose such attempts later. They may even offer you Rs 10 crore as they have a lot of money.”

Kejriwal went on to say that betraying the party and consequently the movement, of which the party is a product, would be akin to “betraying God”. 

Needless to say, such histrionics earned Kejriwal quite a bit of social media trolling. Here are some of the best reactions: 

Out of 270 seats, AAP managed to win only 48 seats in the recent polls. Kejriwal’s statements come in the wake of a growing level of disquiet within the party, with several AAP leaders such as AAP Punjab Convener Sanjay Singh, Delhi in-charge Dilip Pandey, handing in their resignations and others criticizing the current leadership. 

Feature Image Source: Reuters (File)