- Shehzad Poonawala has resigned from the BJP citing personal reasons
- He removed BJP National Spokesperson from his X bio but kept "Modi follower"
- Poonawala began his political career with Congress before joining the BJP
One of the ruling BJP's most visible faces on TV debates, Shehzad Poonawala, has quit the party.
On Thursday, Poonawala changed his bio on his X handle, removing "BJP National Spokesperson" but retaining "Lifelong follower of Prime Minister Narendra Modi".
"Religion: Islam, Culture: Hindu, ideology: Bhartiya, Author: GST ki Yatra; Lifelong follower of PM Narendra Modi" -- Poonawalla mentioned in his updated bio.
NDTV can confirm that Shehzad has resigned from the party citing "personal reasons".
A lawyer by training, Shehzad Poonawala began his political journey with the Congress. He shot to prominence in 2017 when he publicly challenged the internal Congress election process, claiming it was rigged in favour of Rahul Gandhi to elevate him to the post of party president.
After quitting the Congress, he joined the BJP and was designated the party's national spokesperson.
Poonawala had recently shared a clip from an earlier interview with a TV channel in which he stated that it was time for him to move on from active politics.
Shehzad Poonawala is the younger brother of well-known political commentator Tehseen Poonawala. The two brothers had a very public fallout after Shehzad quit the Congress and started attacking the party and its leadership in TV debates.
Tehseen Poonawala regularly appears on TV debates as a Congress supporter and a critic of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's government.
The two brothers, now on opposite sides of the ideological divide, often face off in live debates on news channels, engaging in heated exchanges, political potshots and sarcasm against each other.
There has been no official confirmation from either the BJP or Poonawala regarding the reasons behind his resignation, beyond the reported reference to "personal reasons". An official statement is expected soon.
