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BJP national spokesperson Shehzad Poonawalla has resigned from all party positions and given up his primary membership, saying pressing financial and personal circumstances were behind his decision to leave the party.

Poonawalla, one of the BJP’s most recognisable faces on television debates, said political parties do not pay salaries to their spokespersons or workers and that he was finding it increasingly difficult to support himself financially.

“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),” Poonawalla said in an interview with NDTV.

‘BJP’s Job Is Not To Sustain Me’

Poonawalla, however, stressed that he did not expect the BJP to financially support him and said his commitment to the party and Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s vision remained unchanged.

“The BJP’s job is not to sustain me or any other karyakarta,” he said, explaining that joining a political movement was different from taking up a conventional job.

“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 (organisation), etc. All those three things are still there with me,” he said.

Poonawalla joined the BJP in 2021 after leaving the Congress. He said financial considerations were the primary reason for his decision to leave the ruling party.

'Need To Find A Way To Sustain Myself'

Explaining his circumstances, Poonawalla said many politicians could fall into categories he described as “leta” — those who receive certain benefits — or “beta”, referring to those who have family connections in politics.

He said he belonged to neither category and therefore needed to find a way to financially sustain himself.

His resignation has also triggered speculation on social media, including claims about an alleged “sting operation” video being linked to his departure.

Poonawalla dismissed those theories, saying he had heard about the alleged video for the first time amid the speculation and that there was no truth to the claims circulating online.

“I don’t pursue these things. Whoever is spreading this is not making it salacious enough,” he said.