NT Reporter
Panaji
Ten days after being relieved as party president following a poor performance in the Zilla Panchayat elections, former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Goa chief Amit Palekar on Monday resigned from the primary membership of the party.
Newly appointed AAP Goa president Shrikrishna Parab and AAP Youth
Wing president Rohan
Naik also tendered their resignations.
“Today when my four-year journey with the AAP ends, there are no regrets. I have done whatever I could to make the party grow in Goa,” Palekar told reporters.
He said the party’s performance in the recent ZP elections was the collective responsibility of all leaders, including the party’s national leadership.
“Singling me out and the party, without any discussion, telling me that I am relieved is something unacceptable because we have neither done wrong for the party nor done any anti-party activities. But I have accepted the party’s decision,” said Palekar.
He said that he would contest the upcoming Assembly elections from the
St Cruz constituency.
When asked about his future political plans, including the possibility of joining the Congress, Palekar said, “I am not ruling out any possibilities.”
In his resignation letter addressed to AAP National Convenor Arvind Kejriwal and former Delhi chief minister and Goa desk in-charge Atishi, Palekar said he did not enter public life in pursuit of posts or positions but joined the party believing in its promise of an alternative political culture rooted in transparency, internal democracy and respect for grassroots voices.
“Over time, however, it became increasingly difficult to reconcile these ideals with the way decisions are presently taken and communicated,” he said.
Palekar said that when dialogue and consultation are limited and decisions flow only from the top, institutions are strained.
“For a movement that set out to redefine democratic functioning, this divergence has been deeply disheartening,” he said.
“After much reflection, I have chosen to step away, not in anger or haste, but in self-respect and clarity. This decision has been taken keeping in mind my fellow workers, and most importantly, my people of my St Cruz constituency,” he said.
