BJP Rajya Sabha MP Ajay Pratap Singh quits party

The BJP's Rajya Sabha member from Madhya Pradesh, Ajay Pratap Singh, on Saturday resigned from the party's primary membership, expressing displeasure over its process of selecting candidates for the upcoming Lok Sabha polls, and slammed it for indulging in "large-scale corruption".

He claimed that corrupt people are getting protection in the BJP and the party has become an "adda" (meeting place) of political traders.

Singh shared his resignation letter in a post on his official X account this morning. "I am resigning from the primary membership of the party," he stated in his one-line letter addressed to BJP national president J.P. Nadda.

The letter, however, did not mention any reason for quitting the party. Speaking to reporters in Sidhi city, Singh levelled serious allegations against the party, including protecting the corrupt.

The Rajya Sabha member, one of the aspirants for a party ticket from the Sidhi Lok Sabha seat, also expressed displeasure over the process of ticket distribution. The party said tickets would be allotted based on a survey of people, but this policy did not reflect in the selection of candidates, he alleged.

"The BJP has declared its candidate. I have no opposition to any candidate, but I have objections to and disagreements with the selection system of the party. I am not able to accept it. All this has been reflected in my resignation letter," Singh said.

In the past 15-20 years, the BJP has been in power in Madhya Pradesh and for 10 years at the Centre, he pointed out, adding, "I felt several things in the party during this period. I couldn't say them while staying in the party, but I can say those things now. Corruption is prevailing in the party on a large scale. Corrupt persons are getting protection on a large scale. Politics has become a medium of business...Rather we can say that the party has become an 'adda' for political traders."

He said earlier, the BJP used to be known for "tyag, tapasya aur balidan (renunciation, penance, and sacrifice)", but it can no longer boast of those qualities.

Singh also alleged that development didn't take place in Sidhi despite promises "The slogan of Viksit Bharat (developed India) is hollow. My commitment is for the people of Sidhi-Singrauli... I have decided to give my remaining life to them," he said.

The Rajya Sabha member said he found the BJP was not suitable to achieve his aim of serving people, so he decided to resign from the party. "I didn't find BJP suitable, so I am resigning from the party," he said.

Singh was nominated to the upper house of Parliament by the BJP in March 2018. His tenure as a Rajya Sabha member will end on 2 April. However, he was not re-nominated by the party. He was also an aspirant for a party ticket from Sidhi, but the BJP has fielded Rajesh Mishra from there.