BJP’s TV Face Shehzad Poonawala Quits Party, Cites ‘Personal Reasons’

NEW DELHI, Jul 31: BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawala has resigned from the party citing “personal reasons”, ending his association with the ruling party after years as one of its most prominent faces on television debates.

Poonawala changed his bio on X on Thursday, removing the designation “BJP National Spokesperson” while retaining his description as a “Lifelong follower of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.

His updated bio describes him as “Religion: Islam, Culture: Hindu, ideology: Bhartiya” and identifies him as the author of GST ki Yatra.

A lawyer by training, Poonawala began his political career with the Congress and gained national attention in 2017 after publicly challenging the party’s internal election process, alleging that it was being manipulated to favour Rahul Gandhi for the post of Congress president.

He subsequently left the Congress and joined the BJP, where he was appointed national spokesperson and became a regular participant in television debates defending the party and the Modi government.

Poonawala had recently shared a clip from an earlier television interview in which he said it was time for him to move on from active politics.

He is the younger brother of political commentator Tehseen Poonawala, a known Congress supporter and critic of the Modi government. The brothers have frequently faced each other in televised debates, often engaging in sharp political exchanges since Shehzad’s departure from the Congress.

Neither the BJP nor Poonawala has publicly elaborated on the reasons for his resignation beyond the reference to “personal reasons”, with an official statement awaited. (Agencies)