Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ashish Khetan has quit the party, a week after another leader, Ashutosh, announced his resignation. Khetan, who did not deny the resignation, said he was not involved in “active politics at the moment” and was not interested in rumours. However, sources in the party said Khetan had sent his resignation to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on August 15, the day Ashutosh announced that he was quitting the party.
“For the past two years I have been plagued with self doubt and the question of whether I wanted to continue in electoral politics. Early this year I made my decision to quit active politics after much deliberation and in consultation with family and close friends,” 46-year-old Khetan said in a Facebook post. However, since both the party and the government were beset with a series of crises, I waited for an opportune time to formalise my decision. I had also informed the party leadership about my decision, on more than one occasion,” he said.
“I have only received love and respect from the party and its members and volunteers. And I will be forever grateful for that,” he said in a Facebook post. He said that his “personal decision” to move away from the party and electoral politics should not be viewed as a reflection on the AAP.
His Facebook came after a lot of speculation over his move and reports that he had quit the party. Initially, he gave vague replies on Twitter without confirming his decision.
According to sources in the party, Khetan had sent his resignation to AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal on August 15. There was no official comment from the AAP on Khetan's decision. In the case of Ashutosh, Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal did not accept his resignation. Both resignations are yet to be accepted by Kejriwal, party insiders said.
“I had resigned from Delhi Dialogue Commission (an advisory body of the Delhi government), in April, to join the legal profession. That is all. Not interested in rumours,” Khaitan tweeted.
“I am completely focussed on my legal practice and not involved in active politics at the moment. Rest is all extrapolation,” he said in another tweet.
Khetan had resigned as DDC vice chairman citing “frustration” due to the tussle between the Centre and the AAP-led government.
Adding twist in the tale, AAP sources claimed Khetan wanted to contest the 2019 lok Sabha elections from the New Delhi parliamentary seat that he had lost to BJP's Meenakshi lekhi in 2014. But his demand was not being accepted by the leadership and he had been upset for a while.
However, Khetan sought to quell rumours that his decision was in any way linked to his desire for getting a ticket in the upcoming lok Sabha elections. He was a candidate in the 2014 election.
“The party had graciously asked me to contest the upcoming lok Sabha elections, but I had politely turned it down. Contesting one more election would have further entrenched me in the world of politics, something I don't want at this point in time. “I continue to hold all my ex-party colleagues in high regard and wish them good luck in their future endeavours,” he said.