Arvind Kejriwal's image now lies in tatters: BJP

Branding the ongoing political fiasco within Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) post the MCD debacle as a 'civil war', the Bharatiya Janta Party (BJP) on Saturday said that Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal has lost the faith of public as well as that of his party leaders.

"It seems like there is civil war within the AAP. There seems to be some kind of eruption within the party. People are finally venting out what they wanted to say. Why didn't these leaders speak earlier? If they really had the guts and honesty they should have questioned this earlier. I don't care about their sudden outrage," BJP leader Shazia Ilmi told ANI.

However, Ilmi was not game with the AAP exodus to BJP saying that the deflecting leaders were simply being opportunistic.

"They are trying to jump over and cozy up to BJP. They know that days of AAP are numbered and that is also an opportunism of the worst kind. They are trying to play both side. You can't ride two horses at the same time. There is some dishonesty there. EVM was 'bahana'," she added.

Asserting that Kejriwal, who was earlier considered as 'God' by his party workers has now lost credibility within the party itself, she further said that his public image lies in tatters.

"Kejriwal lost his face all over. He has egg on his face where public perception goes. People don't have faith in Kejriwal. He also lost face within the party. Within the party he was king and God. He had this kind of image but now his party leaders are questioning him. It is a huge dent on his image," she added.

Following the mass exodus and reports of in-fighting within the party, Kejriwal earlier in the day struck a note by admitting that the party made some crucial mistakes which led to their heavy defeat in the Delhi's civic polls.

Accepting his mistakes, Kejriwal asserted that it's time to get back to work.

This admission comes after Kejriwal's defiance post the exit polls predicted a BJP sweep in the civic polls.

He had then said that he would launch a 'movement' if the exit poll results came out to be true.

Yesterday, in yet another blow to Kejriwal, his aide Vishwas raised doubts about the former's ability to win elections and said the party should do soul-searching for the repeated defeats.

He suggested that the party should consider taking drastic steps, including leadership change, if it wants to remain viable in the political arena.

The AAP leader questioned Kejriwal's defense for losing Punjab elections, Rajouri by-poll, as well as the MCD elections.

He said that Kejriwal's stand on the surgical strikes was wrong.

He blamed the AAP's loss in the Punjab election on the party's wrong decision. He said the party needs 'radical reforms'.

In the recent past, other AAP leaders like Alka Lamba and Kapil Mishra have also been critical of the party's views on the poll debacles.

-ANI