Ashutosh with Arvind Kejriwal. (K.Asif/India Today Group/Getty Images)
Ashutosh with Arvind Kejriwal. (K.Asif/India Today Group/Getty Images) 
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AAP Spokesperson Ashutosh Calls It Quits On Independence Day, Cites ‘Very Personal’ Reasons For Quitting Party

BySwarajya Staff

Ashutosh, Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) spokesperson, once seen as a close aide of the party supremo Arvind Kejriwal, has called it quits on the nation’s Independence Day.

Ashutosh announced the decision through a series of tweets, citing ‘very, very personal’ reasons for quitting the primary membership of the party. Ashutosh is a former journalist and had joined the Anna Hazare led India Against Corruption (IAC) movement. He later joined Arvind Kejriwal when he announced the AAP’s formation.

Ashutosh’s resignation will come as a blow to the party as it moves through one turmoil to another. Ashutosh is the latest in the series of the founder members who have quit the party following Yogendra Yadav and Prashant Bhushan among others.

Earlier last month, the party had witnessed a virtual split as several of the party’s Punjab leaders declared their autonomy from the party’s central leadership. Kumar Vishwas, another founding member of the party, who has since been sidelined by the central leadership, congratulated the AAP supremo for another ‘sacrifice’.

Ashutosh had reportedly been upset with the AAP’s picks for the Rajya Sabha, having been ignored by the party for the seats. The AAP picked Sanjay Singh, N D Gupta and Sushil Gupta as its nominations for the upper house.