Aam Aadmi Party lawmaker Alka Lamba on Saturday announced that she would quit the Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal-led party in 2020. The Chandni Chowk MLA accused the AAP of sidelining her by removing her from the party’s WhatsApp group.

Lamba had also suggested that Kejriwal take responsibility for the party’s dismal performance in the Lok Sabha polls and resign.

“Why is the anger being directed at me?” Lamba asked on Twitter along with a screenshot that showed a message from Kejriwal asking lawmakers to work harder followed by a message that AAP’s North East Delhi candidate Dilip Pandey had removed her from the group. “I was saying all this since the first day that you are saying after the defeat today. Sometimes you add me to the group and sometimes you throw me out. I think discussing the differences and problems between ourselves would be a better solution.”

Meanwhile, party spokesperson Saurabh Bharajwaj downplayed Lamba’s claims and called her an “attention seeker”, the Hindustan Times reported.

In a series of tweets, Lamba said she would quit in seven months. “My journey started with you in 2013 will end in 2020,” she tweeted in Hindi. “My best wishes will be with the dedicated revolutionary ground workers of the party, hopefully you will remain a strong alternative in Delhi. The last six years have been memorable and I have learnt a lot from you.”

Lamba claimed that she was told that she had been removed from the party’s MLA WhatsApp group after she praised Naveen Patnaik for winning a fifth term as Odisha chief minister. Kejriwal is a member of the group.


In December 2018, Lamba had claimed that Kejriwal asked her to resign from the party after she refused to support a proposal in the Delhi Assembly on revoking former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi’s Bharat Ratna. Lamba said she had opposed the resolution as she respected the former prime minister. She was also rebuked by the party for speaking to the media without asking what the party’s line on the matter was.

Lamba later hinted that the party had been excluding her from official discussions and had even removed her from their official WhatsApp groups.