Poonam Azad resigns from party after ticket denial

New Delhi, Nov 6 (UNI) Piqued over not being made a party candidate for the forthcoming Delhi Assembly elections, BJP State Vice-President and former cricket player Kirti Azad's wife Poonam Azad today resigned from the party.

Ms Azad submitted her resignation to party president Rajnath Singh's personal secretary, in his absence, at his Ashoka Road residence.

Mr Rajnath Singh is presently in Jaipur to participate in the party's 'Vijay Sankalp Rally' there today.

Ms Azad later went to the party headquarters, along with her numerous supporters, to lodge her protest over denial of ticket, saying 'Purvanchalis' were being shortchanged.

Senior Vice-President of state BJP's JJ Cluster Wing, Sanjay Singh, who was accompanying Ms Azad, complained that despite a population of 20 lakh 'Purvanchalis' in Delhi, they were always ignored and sidelined by the party.

He also said that during the elections he would take out 'Purvanchal Samman Rath' (Purvanchal Honour Rath) to expose the sidelining of 'Purvanchalis' by both the BJP and the Congress.

Ms Azad's supporters also raised slogans against party's chief ministerial candidate V K Malhotra, party general secretary Arun Jaitley and state party president Harshvardhan.

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