Surat: This could be termed as liquidation of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in Surat. The architect of AAP’s 27-seat victory in the Surat Municipal Corporation(SMC) elections in 2021, Alpesh Kathiriya is joining Bharatiya Janata Party(BJP) on April 27. Kathiriya’s aide Dharmik Malaviya will also join the BJP. Kathiriya and Malaviya emerged as well-known faces during the quota agitation by Patidar Anamat Andolan Samiti(PAAS). They built their following in Saurashtra-origin Surat-based youths of the Patidar community. Kathiriya and his supporters worked for AAP victory on 27 seats in SMC elections. This was AAP’s first significant political victory in Gujarat. Both contested assembly elections in 2022 unsuccessfully as AAP candidates. They resigned from AAP on 18th April. They are going to join the BJP with around 200 supporters on 27 April at Mangadh Chowk in Surat in the presence of Gujarat BJP chief CR Patil. Kathiriya was once a cadre of Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP). He now believes his joining the BJP as a homecoming to saffron Parivar.  DeshGujarat