Blow to AAP: Ahead of UP polls, Kumar Vishwas is likely to join BJP

News report says AAP leader Kumar Vishwas is all set to defect the party and join the BJP in the coming days.

Lucknow, Jan 18: According to a news report published in The Economic Times, poet-turned-politician Kumar Vishwas is likely to join the Bharatiya Janata Party.

The report adds that Vishwas, currently a member of the national executive of Aam Aadmi Party, wants to contest the upcoming Uttar Pradesh Assembly elections 2017 from Sahibabad constituency.

The formal announcement in this regard is likely to be made by BJP president Amit Shah in Lucknow in a day or two.

Of late, the Hindi poet is maintaining a low-profile in the AAP. Although the AAP has no presence in UP, but Vishwas is popular among youngsters because of his poetry skills. This is likely to help the BJP which is currently under pressure after the Congress and the Samajwadi Party announced their poll alliance.

The upcoming UP assembly elections -- scheduled to start from February 11-- is an elaborate affair. The state will go to elections in seven phases. The polling dates are February 11, February 15, February 19, February 23, February 27, March 4 and March 8, 2017.

The counting of votes in the state Vidhan Sabha, consisting of 403 assembly seats, will take place on March 11.

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