New Delhi : Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Iliyas Azmi resigned from the party on Monday stating that it has become a “one man” party.
Referring to AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Azmi said “the party has become Kejriwal’s fiefdom”.
The resignation comes after his name was not included in the PAC (Political Affairs Committee), the highest decision-making body of the party, at the National Council meeting held last week.
Azmi did not attend the meeting. “I was told about the meeting but not about where it will take place. Hence, I chose not to go for the meeting,” Azmi told IANS.
Azmi has been a member of the AAP’s National Executive and PAC.
Responding to the allegations, AAP media coordinator Deepak Bajpai said: “I don’t know about his resignation yet. But it’s his wish whether he wants to remain in the party or not.”
Azmi won two Lok Sabha elections from Bahujan Samaj Party in 2004 and 2009 before joining AAP in its early days.
Azmi had voiced his dissent during the 2014 Lok Sabha elections when he was not allowed to contest from Lucknow. He was given the ticket from Lakhmipur Kheri in Uttar Pradesh which he later turned down.
In November 2015, he had also attended an event organised by Swaraj Abhiyan, an NGO formed by ousted AAP leaders Yogendra Yadav and lawyer Prashant Bhushan.