Archive · 19 Aug 2026
Shehzad Poonawalla Quits BJP Citing Unsustainable Unpaid Spokesperson Role
Shehzad Poonawalla has left the Bharatiya Janata Party, also called the BJP.
He resigned from his job as a national spokesperson and from his party membership.
He said the work required him to be available all day, every day.
He also said that party spokespersons do not receive pay.
Poonawalla said he does not come from a political family and has no powerful relative helping him.
He explained that financial and personal problems influenced his decision.
He had been thinking about leaving or taking a private-sector job since 2024.
The BJP first asked him to reconsider, but he decided to leave.
Shehzad Poonawalla resigned as a BJP national spokesperson and relinquished the party’s primary membership.
He said the 24-hour, 365-day workload was no longer financially sustainable.
Poonawalla said BJP spokespersons are not paid and that he has no political family legacy.
He said discussions about resigning or moving to the private sector had continued since 2024.
His resignation letter cited pressing financial and personal circumstances; the BJP initially asked him to reconsider.
- Who
- Shehzad Poonawalla resigned from the Bharatiya Janata Party and its national spokesperson role.
- What
- He quit the party’s primary membership and spokesperson post, citing financial and personal circumstances and an unsustainable workload.
- When
- His resignation letter was dated August 17; discussions about leaving had taken place since 2024.
- Where
- The resignation was announced in a letter to BJP national president Nitin Nabin and in a post on X.
- Why
- Poonawalla said the unpaid, 24-hour, 365-day role was no longer financially sustainable and that he faced personal and financial pressures.
- Resigned by
- Shehzad Poonawalla
- Former role
- Bharatiya Janata Party national spokesperson
- Resignation date
- August 17, according to his letter
- Main reasons cited
- Financial and personal circumstances
- Workload described
- 24 hours a day, 365 days a year
- Party response
- The BJP initially declined to accept the resignation and asked Poonawalla to reconsider
- Organisational change
- Nitin Nabin announced a new BJP team, including Smriti Irani as national general secretary