Former AAP MLA Shoaib Iqbal announced on Sunday that he quit the party after it did not select his preferred candidate for the Municipal Corporation of Delhi bypolls in the Chandni Mahal ward and vowed to “never return.” Interestingly, his son Aaley Mohammad Iqbal is an MLA from the Matia Mahal constituency.
Earlier, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) revealed its candidates for the November 30 bypolls to the 12 wards of the MCD.
Speaking to news agency PTI, Shoaib Iqbal expressed his dissatisfaction with AAP’s policies, stating that the party, which started as a movement, has lost its direction. He confirmed his resignation from the party and vowed never to return.
“I am unhappy with the policies of AAP. The party was born out of a movement, but it has
lost its way. I have resigned from the party and will never return,” Iqbal said.
He was particularly displeased with the party’s candidate choice for Chandni Mahal, as AAP had chosen Muddasir Usman Qureshi for the ward.
“I have been a six-time MLA from the area. My son was a councillor and had won with the highest margin. When he contested in the Assembly polls, he won with the highest margin. Nobody knows the candidate fielded by the party (for the MCD bypoll),” he alleged.
Shoaib Iqbal suggested that more members might leave the party, with significant developments expected on Monday.
He noted that parties emerging from movements often disband, citing the Janata Dal as an example, and suggesting that AAP could face a similar fate.
Shoaib Iqbal had previously been with the Congress before contesting the 2020 Delhi Assembly polls on an AAP ticket.
AAP stated that it had resolved to award tickets to its dedicated workers for the MCD bypolls, avoiding “parachute candidates” from other parties.
“However, Shoaib Iqbal announced his brother-in-law, Kashif Qureshi, as the party’s candidate without consulting the organisation,” it said.
AAP clarified that Muddasir Usman Qureshi was chosen based on an internal survey. Qureshi is a long-time party worker and currently serves as the Delhi co-secretary of AAP’s youth wing, it said. The party emphasised its commitment to giving opportunities to ordinary workers rather than relatives of its members.
Shoaib Iqbal first contested Assembly elections in 1993 on a Janata Dal ticket and won the 2013 polls as a JD(U) candidate. He was also associated with Ram Vilas Paswan’s Lok Janshakti Party before joining the Congress in 2014.