Delhi MLA Alka Lamba quits AAP, says ‘time to say good bye’

Aam Aadmi Party’s Chandini Chowk legislator Alka Lamba quit the party with a ‘time to say goodbye message’, capping months of differences with the leadership that often played out on social media platforms. She is expected to go back to the Congress, the party with which she started her political career in 1994.

“The time has come to say “Good Bye” to #AAP and to resign from the primary membership of the Party. The past 6 years journey was a great learning for me. Thanks to all,” the 43-year-old leader tweeted.

Lamba’s resignation comes days after she met Congress president Sonia Gandhi to discuss ‘current affairs’. ”Discussion with Smt Sonia Gandhi on current affairs was long due. Today, got a chance to discuss all issues with her. In politics, such interactions have been going on and must continue.” She tweeted after the September 3 meeting.

The MLA, who has been at loggerheads with the party leadership for some time, had on August 4 announced that she would quit the AAP. Responding to which AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj had tweeted, “She has announced this a dozen of times in the past. It takes 1 min to send a written resignation letter to party leadership. We will accept it on Twitter too.” This was followed by a bitter Twitter spat between the



two.

Lamba has often spoken about being ‘disrespected’ by the party and has had social media spats with party leaders on several occasions. After the AAP’s defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, she had sought accountability from party chief Arvind Kejriwal following which she was removed from the official WhatsApp group of the lawmakers.

In the run-up to the Lok?Sabha elections, Lamba had refused to campaign and also kept away from Kejriwal’s roadshow after she was asked to walk behind his car during the event.

Her first skirmish with the party leaders was over the AAP’s decision to pass a resolution to revoke Rajiv Gandhi’s Bharat Ratna over his comments on the 1984 anti-Sikh riots. Lamba had raised objections to the move and said that she was ready to face any punishment because of her actions.

After her stint as a student leader, that started in 1994, Lamba was appointed the general secretary of All India Mahila Congress in 2002. In 2003, she unsuccessfully contested Delhi Assembly elections from Moti Nagar Constituency against senior BJP leader Madan Lal Khurana.

She quit the Congress in December 2014 to join AAP and in 2015 won from the Chandni Chowk assembly constituency defeating her nearest rival, Suman Kumar Gupta of the BJP.