Shehzad Poonawalla, who has already resigned as the BJP’s national spokesperson, has once again tendered his resignation to the party, requesting the leadership to accept it and relieve him of his organisational responsibilities.
In a letter to BJP president Nitin Nabin that he shared on X, Poonawalla expressed gratitude that the party had initially refused to accept his resignation and had urged him to reconsider. However, after “long and hard contemplation”, he stated that he had reached a final decision to insist on stepping down from his party role and active membership.
“The events of the last few days, courtesy certain individuals about whom I have told you in great detail, have forced me to reinforce and stand by my earlier decision,” he said, without naming the individuals.
Poonawalla, who joined the BJP in late 2021, had risen to become one of the party’s leading figures and one of its most prominent Muslim voices within the organisation.
Clarifying his decision, he repeated that he was shifting to the private sector owing to urgent financial and personal circumstances. At the same time, he affirmed that he would continue to back the vision and efforts of Prime Minister Modi and the BJP “wherever possible and in whatever format possible.”
“I am only leaving the Vyavastha, not the Vyakti or Vichar,” Poonawalla stated, making clear that his departure from the party organisation did not signify any break in his political loyalty to Modi or the BJP’s ideological principles.
Poonawalla emphasised that his decision was not motivated by any resentment and conveyed his “gratefulness, love, affection and highest regard” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, BJP president Nitin Nabin and senior leaders such as Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and BJP general secretary BL Santosh.
He also thanked the BJP for the “platform and opportunities” it had given him over the past five years.
Sharing the letter to the party leadership, he wrote on X, “In no other country and no other party would a story like mine, of a young, Pasmanda Muslim, non-dynast, even be possible”.
The 38-year-old lawyer-turned-politician started his political journey with the Congress but gained national prominence after parting ways with the party’s leadership over issues of its internal functioning and dynastic politics. He later joined the BJP and emerged as one of its most recognisable national spokespersons, regularly representing the party in television debates, press briefings and on social media.
In 2021, he was also entrusted with the responsibility of the BJP’s Delhi IT and social media department
