Double blow for AAP: Shazia Ilmi, Captain Gopinath quit Arvind Kejriwal-led party

 New Delhi: In what can bring more trouble to the already-sulked Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) after its disastrous performance in the Lok Sabha polls, two of its prominent leaders Shazia Ilmi and Captain Gopinath on Saturday resigned from the party.

Ilmi and Gopinath made the announcement at the time when Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal is in judicial custody till June 06 in a defamation case.

Ading to AAP woes, Gopinath said he decided to quit after increasing differences in the party. He had earlier also spoken against party. Gopinath, who launched the first Indian low-cost carrier, had joined the party few months before the General Elections.


Ilmi, who expressed her dissatisfaction with the party's leadership, told a press conference that there is a lack of internal democracy within AAP.

Only a small group has gripped AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal and they take all the decisions, said Ilmi. Hitting out further, Ilmi said: "I find it amazing that we cannot follow principles of swaraj in our own party."

"AAP did a lot to change national political discourse, but it lacked party democracy."

She insisted on reinventing the party, so that it could go beyond agitation against leaders.

Ilmi made the announcement after the Aam Aadmi Party's Political Affairs Committee met at Prashant Bhushan's residence to pacify her.

In a bid to dilute the whole matter, former Delhi law minister Somnath Bharti had earlier in the day said he met Ilmi and there is no major issue. "These things happen in a family," said Bharti, assuring all is well.

Earlier in the day, Aam Aadmi Party leader Ashutosh watered down the report, saying he did not know if Shazia Ilmi was unhappy. “She has not contacted the party yet, therefore I can't comment,” added Ashutosh.

Delhi BJP chief and the newly-elected MP from Chandni Chowk, Dr Harsh Vardhan, took a jibe, saying that any AAP member, who comes to know even 10 percent of the party's real face, will quit.

Ashwini Upadhyay, who was expelled by the AAP last month due to "anti-party activities", meanwhile, said soon no one will be left in the party except Kejriwal, Sisodia,Yogendra Yadav, Sanjay Singh and their sycophants.

As per reports, the senior party leaders are trying to persuade Ilmi from resigning.

The journalist-turned-politician, who contested Lok Sabha elections from Ghaziabad constituency, even lost their security deposit as she could get just 89,125 votes.