AAP found ammunition to gun for the BJP on Monday after it emerged that the saffron party's Inderpuri candidate for this month's municipal polls, who was touted as a slum dweller and the face of the city's urban poor, happens to be a millionaire.

Meet Sunita Kaushik, who was handpicked by the party's city chief Manoj Tiwari.

The BJP went on the defensive after she told the state election commission in an affidavit that she has assets worth Rs 1.35 crore, including three residential houses in west Delhi. However, Kaushik is not an income-tax payer.

Aam Aadmi Party spokesperson Dilip Pandey termed the BJP's support for the slum dwellers and residents of unauthorised colonies in Delhi "hypocrisy" and "fake".

By portraying a millionaire candidate as a slum dweller, the BJP has hurt the sentiments of the poor," he said. "It is an insult to lakhs of people living in Delhi's slums and unauthorised colonies in a pitiable condition."

KAUSHIK'S PLUNGE INTO DELHI POLITICS

Kaushik's plunge into Delhi politics was no less than a scene out of a Bollywood movie.

Tiwari, who was on a visit to the Inderpuri slums this New Year's Eve, met the woman who came to the BJP president alleging that "politicians never listened to the problems of the poor". straight talk, Tiwari assured her of a "solution" and it surprised many when he declared Kaushik as the BJP's candidate from the local municipal ward.

It was Tiwari's first visit to Delhi's slums after taking charge of Delhi BJP last year.

He had spent the night of December 31, 2016 with the residents of Todapur slums where he also met Sunita Kaushik. "During the BJP president's visit, she had said that politicians don't listen to the poor.

To this, she was promised a solution. Today she is a BJP candidate," the party's city unit had said in a statement after announcing her candidature.

A senior leader said the BJP had also ensured her ticketkeeping in view of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's vision to strengthen the weaker sections.

"My visits were a reality check on the condition of slums and unauthorised colonies under the AAP government. I was pained to hear that politicians do not listen to the poor," Tiwari said about the interaction at the shanties.

PROPERTIES OF SUNITA KAUSHIK

Kaushik is a millionaire with two houses and jewellery worth Rs 97 lakh.

She disclosed that she owns two residential properties measuring 720 square feet and 553 square feet at Dasghara in Inderpuri whose market price is pegged at Rs 50 lakh and Rs 32 lakh, respectively.

Her husband, Shashi Bhushan, also owns a house worth Rs 10 lakh. The couple possesses jewellery worth Rs 7 lakh. Kaushik's share in it is valued at Rs 6 lakh.

The affidavit also disclosed that she has Rs 50,000 in cash while her husband carries Rs 85,000.

However, she only has Rs 1,000 in her bank account, a little more than her spouse's Rs 576. BJP leaders refused to comment on the assets declared by its candidate but said its pick was aimed at supporting the less-privileged.

"While no other party has ever stood with the slum dwellers, the BJP is the only party to have chosen its candidate from the weaker sections. It has been done with a strong intent to strengthen the poor," said a party leader.

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