In an embarrassment to ruling BJP in poll-bound Chhattisgarh, former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee's niece Karuna Shukla, a former Lok Sabha MP, on Saturday resigned from the party alleging she was being "continuously neglected" by senior leaders.
"The party organisation has been taken over by those in power. I was continuously neglected in the party due to which I am deeply hurt," Shukla told reporters. Shukla, also a former national president of BJP Mahila Morcha, said she had sent her resignation to party chief Rajnath Singh. BJP is facing a turmoil of sorts in Chhattisgarh after several MLAs were denied tickets to contest the upcoming state Assembly elections.
Shukla said she was not consulted on party affairs for the last few years and BJP president Rajnath Singh and national general secretary in charge of Chhattisgarh J P Nadda had even refused to grant her audience.
"The party is not listening to its senior leaders in the state and power has been confined in the hands of a few who are running the organistion according to their will," she said. Asked about her plans, Shukla said she wanted to spend time with her family for now. Meanwhile, Nadda has described the development as an "internal matter" of the party and expressed confidence that Shukla will be mollified.