- Shehzad Poonawalla resigned from BJP citing financial and personal reasons for quitting
- He said BJP does not pay spokespersons and he struggled to sustain himself financially
- Poonawalla remains committed to BJP ideology despite leaving party positions
BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla has resigned from all positions and the primary membership of the party. One of the most well-known faces of the ruling party on TV debates, Poonawalla stated that he has quit due to "pressing" financial and personal circumstances.
In his first interview after quitting the BJP, Poonawalla said that political parties, including the BJP, do not pay salaries to their spokespersons and that he was finding it difficult to sustain himself.
"I need to pay my rent. My landlord is not going to give me free rent because I'm from the BJP. He's asking me for rent on the 1st. Political parties don't pay karyakartas (workers)," Shehzad Poonawalla said.
But he quickly added that he did not expect the BJP to sustain him, and that he still remains committed to the party's and the Prime Minister's vision.
"The BJP's job is not to sustain me or any other karyakarta. See, when you join a political movement, this is not a job. You become a karyakarta because of the love for the vichar dhara (ideology), or the love for the vyakti (person), or the love for the sangathan (organisaton), etc. All those three things are still there with me."
Insisting that financial issues were the main reason for his sudden exit from the BJP, Shehzad Poonawalla, who joined the party in 2021 after quitting the Congress, pointed out that while most politicians fall in the "leta" (taking some benefits) or "beta" (someone's son) category, he belonged to neither and thus needed to find ways to sustain himself.
"Why do you think that all politicians are from leta or beta? I neither do leta, that means taking anything, nor am I some big politician's beta."
"People are unwilling to accept that politicians like me - first-generation, new-age politicians - don't come from any legacy. What happens is we are so used to seeing Sachin Pilots or we are so used to seeing all these netas, betas, that we assume that everyone has that lifestyle," he added.
Poonawalla also repeatedly insisted that his resignation was not a sudden move, but that he had been thinking about it since 2024. He also said that the party leadership reached out to him after he first expressed his desire to quit a few weeks ago.
"Whoever needed to reach out to me already reached out to me on the 30th of July. And much before that, when I communicated that these are the challenges I'm facing, they in fact went out of their way to work out or see how I could be taken care of. But honestly, my conscience doesn't allow me. The BJP is not my employment opportunity. The BJP is my ideological opportunity. And to commit to the BJP's ideology or Modiji's vision, I don't need to be in a position in the BJP."
Rejecting the various "conspiracy" theories floating around his exit, such as an alleged "sting operation" video, Poonawalla said that he was hearing of any such video for the first time and that there was no truth in the stories floating around on social media.
"I don't pursue these things. Whoever is spreading this is not making it salacious enough."
In his resignation letter, Shehzad Poonawalla mentioned "the events of the last few days, courtesy certain individuals", without taking names or specifying details. Refusing to name any names, Poonawalla told NDTV that there are working issues in every organisation. "In any organization, and especially in political organizations or media organizations, if you feel that everyone is going to have the most cordial, hunky-dory relationship, that's not how it works."
He then went on to add that there are people who want to see him fall, without going into specific names or individuals. "That's how public life works... People wanting to pull you down."
Middle class earns.
August 16, 2026
Middle class pays.
But what does the middle class get back? 🤔
Bad roads.
Air pollution.
Toxic water.
Corruption.
Time to AXE THE PERSONAL INCOME TAX for Salaried Middle Class till we get WORLD CLASS FACILITIES. #KhandanKaro #TheManifesto #MiddleClass… pic.twitter.com/chSJgAYwoZReacting to criticism over his latest video demanding tax relief for the middle class, and questions on why he didn't raise these issues while being in the ruling party, Shehzad clarified that he was not targeting the Centre or any particular party through his video and was raising the issue like a "nagrik" (citizen).
Advertisement"I have written a book on how the GST rationalization has actually helped in lowering the average rate of taxes in this country. So frankly, the central government has done its bit. But taxes are not charged just by the central government. Taxes are charged by state governments. Tolls are charged. We are charged cesses. We are charged all kinds of things. Go to Karnataka, go to Himachal and see."
Ruling out switching back to Congress, Shehzad Poonawall list his conditions for a change of heart.
"I will join Congress, on one condition: Remove Rahul Gandhi, remove Sonia Gandhi, remove Priyanka Wadra, apologize for Nehru's actions," Poonawala cheekily said.
Shehzad Poonawalla insisted that he remains ideologically committed to the Modi vision: "I'm not a bhavishya vakta (future teller) like Rahul Gandhi, but all I can say in the present moment is that there is no greater leader this country has had, or will have, than Prime Minister Modi. And having served as the national spokesperson of the world's largest democratic party, do you think I'm going to settle for some other party? The BJP is the best party that India has at this moment."
