CHANDIGARH: Ashok Tanwar tendered his resignation letter to national convener of the Aam Aadmi Party nd Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal on Thursday.
Tanwar was the party's face in Haryana and had earlier headed the Haryana Congress for over five years as he was considered close to Rahul Gandhi.
The Dalit leader from Haryana and state campaign committee chairman of AAP is likely to join BJP in the coming days, as he said that the alignment of AAP with Congress is the reason he quit the party.
Both the Congress and AAP are in talks for alliance in different states as part of the INDIA bloc.
"In view of the current political scenario and your alignment with the Indian National Congress, my ethics won't allow me to continue as Chairman of, Election Campaign Committee, Aam Aadmi Party Haryana. Therefore kindly accept by resignation from the primary membership and all the other responsibilities of AAP. As a responsible citizen of this country and being into active politics since my student days, I have always believed in our constitution, the country and it’s people first. I will continue to work for the betterment of the state of Haryana our beloved country Bharat and it’s people,’’ read the resignation letter.
Sources said Tanwar had recently even met Haryana Chief Minister Manohar Lal Khattar at a hotel in Delhi.
The former Sirsa MP has been distancing himself from party programmes for the last few days as he was disappointed after he was not nominated by the party for the Rajya Sabha seat.
In April last year, Tanwar had shifted to AAP from Trinamool Congress and before that, he was associated with the Congress.
In February 2014, Tanwar was appointed as the Haryana Pradesh Congress Committee (HPCC) president.
He was once considered to be a rising star among young Congress leaders and was a close aide to Rahul Gandhi.
Tanwar is the second big leader of the AAP in Haryana who resigned from the party as few days back former minister and four-time MLA Nirmal Singh quit from AAP along with his daughter Chitra Sarwara.
The father-daughter duo returned to Congress in an election year.
BY Harpreet Bajwa