NEW DELHI: One of the ruling BJP’s most visible faces on TV debates, Shehzad Poonawala, has quit the party. On Thursday, Poonawala changed his bio on his X handle, removing “BJP National Spokesperson” but retaining “Lifelong follower of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.
He updated bio on X (formerly Twitter), removing the mention of BJP. No official statement on his resignation has been released so far.
Reports citing sources said that he has already quit from the party. He tendered his resignation to the top brass of the BJP and cited personal reasons behind the decision, CNN-News18 reported citing sources. However, Poonawalla describes himself as a “lifelong follower” of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Poonawalla joined the Bharatiya Janata Party after quitting the Congress following a fallout over the party’s presidential election process in 2017. After joining the BJP, Poonawalla was elevated to the position of national spokesperson.
Poonawalla has been a staunch supporter of PM Modi and the BJP and is known for making firebrand remarks on debates and other platforms. He repeatedly attacked Congress and criticised its leaders including Rahul Gandhi through his social media.
On Friday, Poonawalla shared a clip of his interview in which he is heard saying that the BJP is the only party which gives fair chance to everyone, no matter their family.
“Only a BJP can give you a self made person like Narendra Modi ji – the rest will only promote their children and dynasties. Hence this BJP remains the best bet for the youth…” he captioned the video. However, he did not make any remarks about leaving the BJP
In the last few posts on Poonawalla’s X account, he had hinted towards moving on from active politics. He had shared some clips of his past interviews, without any caption, where he talked about quitting politics.
In one of the clips, he is heard saying, “It is a problem that we merge the political goal with electoral goal. They are two different things. Thinking that I make societal contribution only after my electoral goals are met is a mistake. If I don’t become an MP, does that mean I have no contribution in society and politics? Should I spend all my energy on running behind these positions? I think everyone should think what they can contribute for the country. Some people contribute my becoming elected representatives, while some go out of this system and try to contribute. That does not mean we are apolitical.”
The clip, according to his social media, is from January 2025.
