Home » Behind the News » Retired Ips Officer Bhaskar Rao Made The Transition From Aap To Its Main Rival The Bjp Heres Why

Retired IPS officer Bhaskar Rao made the transition from AAP to its main rival, the BJP. Here’s why

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BySouth First Desk

Published Feb 28, 2023 | 11:36 PM ⚊UpdatedApr 11, 2023 | 5:48 PM

Retired IPS officer Bhaskar Rao is set to join BJP from AAP

Retired IPS officer Bhaskar Rao with Karnataka Revenue Minister R Ashoka. (Supplied)

The Congress often calls the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) the “B Team” of the BJP, for the way it tends to cut into the grand old party’s votes when it is in a direct contest with the saffron party — as in Punjab, Gujarat, etc.

That must have been on the mind of retired IPS officer Bhaskar Rao — who had joined the AAP last year soon after it got the tag of a national party after the Punjab elections. Now Bhaskar Rao has decided it makes more sense to be in the “A Team”, the BJP.

Bhaskar Rao was in touch with another ex-IPS officer now in BJP

Bhaskar Rao will be inducted into the BJP on Wednesday, 1 March, in the presence of senior party functionaries at the saffron party’s state headquarters at Malleswaram.

It is apparently a well-considered decision.

It is being said that Rao, who on Tuesday met with Karnataka Minister of Revenue R Ashoka, has been in constant touch with another former IPS officer — K Annamalai, the BJP’s Tamil Nadu unit chief — before he finally decided to join the saffron party.

Also read: In Annamalai, BJP sees a quintessential Tamil film hero for Hindutva project

Unhappy with local AAP leaders

While joining the AAP last year, Bhaskar Rao had said he decided to do so because of the party’s values and ideology. He seemed a happy and contended man after meeting AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal in Delhi. He was also openly and vocally critical of the BJP and its corrupt practices.

But he has since re-evaluated his entire stance.

“Keeping in mind the eminent leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji, I have decided to join the BJP party where there is scope for growth opportunities with my political ambitions and aspirations,” Rao told South First when we reached out to him.

Sources, however, told South First said that Bhaskar Rao was unhappy with the local AAP leaders and was not attending any meetings due to his differences with state unit president Prithvi Reddy. Looks like Delhi ministers Satyendra Jain and Manish Sisodia’s aren’t the only resignations AAP is dealing with.