Chandigarh: In a boost for Congress ahead of the municipal corporation elections, Aam Aadmi Party councillor Ramchandra Yadav joined the party on Tuesday along with Punjabi actor Aditi Arya.Yadav, the councillor from Ward 15 and former president of AAP’s youth wing in Chandigarh, joined Congress at Rajiv Gandhi Bhawan in Sector 35 in the presence of Chandigarh Pradesh Congress Committee president HS Lucky and other party leaders.Explaining his exit from AAP, Yadav alleged that grassroots workers were not getting due recognition and claimed the party’s Chandigarh leadership lacked direction. He said he would raise civic issues and concerns of the Purvanchali community through the Congress platform, adding that Congress was best placed to challenge the BJP.Arya said Chandigarh needed renewed focus on development, cleanliness, tourism, culture and civic amenities. Calling herself a “daughter of Chandigarh”, she said she wanted to contribute to restoring the city’s standing as one of the country’s best-planned cities.Welcoming the duo, Lucky said their entry reflected growing support for Congress ahead of the civic polls. He also targeted the BJP-led civic administration, alleging that key issues relating to water supply, sanitation, traffic, parking, roads and property tax remained unresolved despite the BJP holding nine of the last 10 mayoral terms.
