In a major setback to the Congress party ahead of Assembly elections in the capital, senior leader and five-time former MLA from Seelampur, Choudhary Mateen Ahmed, joined the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Sunday, days after his son and daughter-in-law moved to the Kejriwal-led party. The AAP, in turn, suffered a jolt as veteran politician Harsharan Singh Balli quit the party and joined the BJP alongwith his son Gurmeet Singh. Balli, a four-time BJP MLA from the Harinagar constituency in West Delhi, served as minister in the Madan Lal Khurana government. He later joined the AAP. Delhi Assembly polls are due in February next year.

Choudhary Mateen Ahmed joined the AAP in the presence of AAP convener Arvind Kejriwal. Mateen has represented the Seelampur Assembly constituency five times from 1993 to 2015. Previously, he served as the Vice-President of the Delhi Jal Board and was appointed chairman of the Delhi Waqf Board under former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit.  He was the prominent face of minority community during the Sheila Dikshit tenure. He holds substantial influence in about 10 Assembly constituencies across Delhi, particularly among Muslim voters.

His son Choudhary Zubair Ahmed and daughter in law Shagufta Choudhary had joined the AAP last week. Shagufta Chaudhary is a councillor in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi. Chaudhary Zubair resigned citing "personal reasons," while Shagufta stated that she joined AAP to foster peace and harmony in her community.

AAP's national convenor and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal personally visited Mateen Ahmed's residence to welcome him into the party, accompanied by Delhi government minister Imran Hussain.

Kejriwal's visit has strengthened speculations that Mateen's family members may secure a ticket in the upcoming elections. During Mateen’s  induction, Kejriwal also praised him as a prominent figure in Delhi’s politics, adding that he is now with the right party.

"Chaudhary Mateen Ahmed ji has been serving the people by living in the Yamuna -paar area," Kejriwal said in a post on X as he welcomed the latest entrant in the party. Kejriwal, speaking about Mateen Ahmed's entry into AAP, said, "Chaudhary Sahab is finally where he belongs." "AAP is not formed like other parties in the country. We came to serve the public and work honestly. For the past ten years, we have been serving the people. Chaudhary Sahib should have joined our party ten years ago. But he has now joined the right party," he said. "Chaudhary Sahib is a big name in Delhi politics. The AAP is known for its service to the public, and Chaudhary Sahib and his family are also known for their service to the people," the former Delhi CM said.

Ch0udhary also resigned as District President of Babarpur Congress Committee and from the party, citing "personal reasons."In his resignation letter, he thanked the party leadership for the opportunities.

AAP won the Seelampur Assembly seat in both the 2015 and 2020 elections, with Mohammad Ishraq winning in 2015 and Abdul Rehman in 2020. AAP insiders said there was speculation that the party might drop Abdul Rahman from Seelampur and replace him with Chaudhary Zubair Ahmed. Later, Abdul Rahman announced his resignation as president of AAP's minority cell. Speculations are rife that Chaudhary Zubair Ahmed may be fielded as the Aam Aadmi Party's candidate from Seelampur in the upcoming Assembly elections.

While Balli  joined the BJP in the presence of the party's Delhi unit president Virendra Sachdeva. Balli’s return to the BJP marks nearly four years since he left the party in January 2020 to join AAP, alongside then Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia. Balli previously served as an MLA from the Hari Nagar assembly constituency from 1993 to 2013 and was the Industrial Minister during Madan Lal Khurana’s government in Delhi. Former Mayor Subhash Arya and former MLA Subhash Sachdeva, close friends of Balli, were also present on this occasion.

Speaking on the occasion, Sachdeva stated that, as Delhi’s Industry Minister, Balli played a significant role in the expansion of industrial trade in Delhi. Sachdeva remarked that Balli is a prominent Sikh leader in Delhi who is known as a respected Sikh leader in West Delhi with an image of an honest public representative. According to Sachdeva, Balli’s joining will benefit areas such as Hari Nagar, Moti Nagar, Rajouri Garden, Tilak Nagar, Janakpuri, and Vishwas Nagar constituencies.

Upon rejoining the BJP family, an emotional Balli said that he had joined AAP with great hope, inspired by Arvind Kejriwal’s words, but after five years, have left in disappointment as the Kejriwal government has severed Delhi from development and pushed it into a mire of corruption.