Shehzad Poonawalla’s decision to quit the BJP came after years of uncertainty over his political role, but the immediate reasons were financial and personal circumstances that required him to return to the private sector, the 38-year-old has said.
The BJP national spokesperson submitted his resignation from all party posts and primary membership to party president Nitin Nabin on Monday. He first offered to resign on July 30, but the party asked him to reconsider.
After “long and hard contemplation”, Poonawalla said he decided to stick to his decision.
“The events of the last few days, courtesy certain individuals about whom I have told you in great detail, have forced me to reinforce and stand by my earlier decision,” he said in his resignation letter, without naming the individuals or explaining what happened.
Poonawalla said the party’s initial decision not to accept his resignation was “extremely touching” and he was grateful to the BJP for the opportunities he received over the last five years. He also made it clear that his resignation was not a break with Prime Minister Narendra Modi or the BJP’s ideology.
“Due to pressing emergency financial and personal circumstances, I will move into the private sector, but wherever possible and in whatever format possible, I will continue to support the vision and work of Prime Minister Modi and the BJP,” he said. “I am only leaving the Vyavastha (organisation) not the Vyakti (people) or Vichar (ideology),” Poonawalla added.
He had been planning to leave since 2024
Poonawalla later explained that his decision had been in the making for nearly two years. In an interview with News24, he said he had been considering leaving the BJP since 2024 because he wanted to return to salaried employment and address his financial circumstances.
“I have been planning this since 2024. I was in the service industry and had a salaried job, which I left. I gave 24/7, 365 days to politics. When I felt it was either my job or politics, I decided to resume my job,” he said.
He also said that the post of party spokesperson does not carry a salary because it is a voluntary position. “I am sticking to my decision. A spokesperson does not get a salary; it is a voluntary position,” he said.
Poonawalla said the BJP remained, in his view, a strong platform for young and middle-class people entering politics. He also said the party had never stopped him from expressing his views independently and that disagreements were usually discussed internally.
“I will not work directly for the BJP, but I will continue to support its thoughts,” he said.
Poonawalla’s X bio had already dropped BJP
Signs of his impending exit was seen in late July, when Poonawalla changed his X bio and removed the reference to his position as BJP national spokesperson. He, thought, kept a line calling himself a “lifelong follower of Prime Minister Narendra Modi”.
This came ahead of the BJP announcing a major reshuffle of its national office-bearers. The party appointed former Union minister Smriti Irani as one of its eight national general secretaries, while former national general secretary Ram Madhav was named a vice-president.
Vinod Tawde and Sunil Bansal were among those retained as national general secretaries. Former Tripura chief minister Biplab Kumar Deb was appointed national general secretary and Union minister Piyush Goyal was named treasurer. Anil Baluni was retained as media in charge.
No interest in BJP’s social media post, Poonawalla said
Poonawalla also dismissed speculation that he was interested in taking over the BJP’s social media operation after Amit Malviya was replaced as the party’s social media head.
The BJP appointed Deepak Mhaskey as social media convenor, with Priti Gandhi, Shivanand Dwivedi, Alok Bhatt and Arun Yadav as co-convenors.
Asked about reports that he could have been considered for the role, Poonawalla said he had no interest in it. “I have no interest. It’s not as easy as you think. The task looks glamorous from the outside but is very difficult,” he said.
A new focus on middle-class issues
A day before his second resignation letter, Poonawalla announced a new initiative called “The Manifesto” on Instagram. It seemed like a possible focus on issues affecting the middle class.
In the programme, he asked whether taxpayers in India received services and infrastructure comparable to countries where tax rates are similar. He raised concerns over roads, schools, infrastructure, paper leaks, corruption and accountability.
He also called for lower taxes on the middle class, particularly salaried taxpayers, and higher income-tax slabs.
