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New Delhi: Senior AAP leader and its Muslim face Shazia Ilmi has reportedly resigned from the party, marking the first casualty to AAP’s disastrous Lok Sabha performance. It is learnt that she sent a letter to the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) giving her resignation.Ilmi did not respond to calls and messages despite repeated attempts but a message from an unidentified phone number said she was planning to announce her resignation at a press conference to be held in the afternoon on Saturday.
The journalist-turned-politician contested Lok Sabha elections from Ghaziabad constituency where she garnered very less votes. She had earlier lost the Delhi Assembly elections from RK Puram seat but had lost by about 300 votes.
Ilmi has been unhappy with the party’s decisions in recent months and felt overlooked when the ticket for Delhi was denied to her in favour of “outsiders” like Ashutosh and Ashish Khetan.
As per reports, the other senior leaders of the party may try to persuade Shazia Ilmi, one of the founder members of the Anna movement, from not taking such a step.
The move could not have come at a worse time for the party with its main leader Arvind Kejriwal in prison for the next 2 weeks.
Reports coming from AAP Maharashtra’s headquarter in Mumbai said, Advocate Shakeel Ahmed, one of the senior leaders, has resigned from the State Executive Council.
Dissent within the AAP came to the fore on Friday as the party’s foot-soldiers questioned the leadership over the debacle in the Lok Sabha elections and demanded dissolution of the Political Affairs Committee (PAC), even as party leaders tried to pacify them.
At a meeting organised to discuss future course of action for the party after its convener Kejriwal’s judicial custody was extended, many volunteers sought answers about the functioning within the party.
Some volunteers were seen holding placards with messages, “Who will own the responsibility of defeat (in the Lok Sabha elections)?” and “PAC should be dissolved” at the meeting.
Party leaders, however, admitted there was a lack of communication with the party volunteers, but tried to rejuvenate them with encouraging talks.
“There has been a lack of communication in the party because of the limited resources,” party Delhi unit secretary and AAP spokesperson Dilip Pandey told volunteers.
“We admit that we have faults and we have to build the organisation. We have to improve the system,” party leader and Political Affairs Committee (PAC) member Gopal Rai said.
“Congress is more than 125 years old and we are just one and half years old. Still we have done good,” he said.
