Five reasons that forced AAP founding member Shazia Ilmi to quit party

New Delhi: Shazia Ilmi, one of the founder members of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), on Saturday resigned from all party posts citing lack of "inner-party democracy". Disapproving of "jail politics" of AAP, Ilmi also claimed that a "crony clique" around its chief Arvind Kejriwal is calling the shots in the party. "After much thought and deliberation I have decided to give up my membership of AAP and resign from all positions within the party," she told reporters at a press conference. However, she clarified that she is not joining any other party. Her resignation comes at a time when the party chief Arvind Kejriwal has been behind bars till June 6 in a criminal defamation case filed by former BJP President Nitin Gadkari. Here are five reasons that forced Ilmi to quit the party: 1. Felt alienated: Shazia Ilmi felt overlooked when the ticket for Delhi was denied to her in favour of Ashutosh and Ashish Khetan. "I was consistently sidelined in the party. I raised questions on ticket distribution in the party but my complaints were not addressed," she said in the press conference. 2. Inner-party democracy: "My decision to leave the party is triggered by the lack of inner-party democracy, especially from a party that constantly talks of Swaraj (self rule)," she said. Attacking some AAP leaders who are considered close to Kejriwal, she said, "We fight against cronyism but we have a crony clique which runs the party and takes impulsive decisions which we learn about later. I find it amazing that we cannot follow the principles of Swaraj within our own party." "When a brilliant person like Arvind who espoused the concept of ‘swaraj’ of collective making is unable to follow it personally within the party," she added. 3. Jail politics: Advising the AAP convener, the journalist-turned-politician said Arvind Kejriwal should pay his bail bond and spend time with the party's workers and candidates. "I am not for jail bharo politics.There's a need to reinvent AAP, go beyond agitation. Fasts and demonstrations were helpful earlier but now, people don't like it," she said. 4. AAP has become directionless: The party's habit of changing goalposts all too often seems to have disappointed Ilmi. "AAP seems to have become directionless. It needs to reinvent itself," Ilmi said. 5. Dissent voices growing in AAP: Ilmi was unhappy with the party leadership on certain issues, including the choice of her Lok Sabha constituency Ghaziabad, where she could not even save her deposits. She had conveyed to the party leadership her desire to contest from one of the seven seats in Delhi in the Lok Sabha Elections. She had lost Delhi Assembly elections last year from the R K Puram constituency by a thin margin.