Ashish Khetan said that he had been thinking about the move for more than a year (File)
Highlights
- Ashish Khetan said he was thinking about the move for more than a year
- Soon after Ashutosh quit, Mr Khetan also announced his exit days later
- He also said he is not interested in joining party politics as of now
Journalist-turned-politician Ashish Khetan, the latest among prominent Aam Aadmi Party leaders to quit the group, has said his move was "a personal decision" to step away from electoral politics. He is not joining any other outfit just yet and hopes to join academics or even journalism now, he said.
Speaking to NDTV, the 42-year-old said that he had been thinking about the move for more than a year now.
"For the last 1-1.5 years, I was having self-doubts about my own journey whether I want to stay in electoral politics in the future. And I decided that at this point in my life I don't want to go any deeper into electoral politics. And return to academics maybe even journalism at some point. And focus on law. This is why I decided to quit the party," he said.
Mr Khetan also said that the party even offered him a ticket to contest Lok Sabha elections next year but eventually decided that his time in politics was up.
"I have only got love and respect from the party. When I was leaving, the party asked me many times to fight Lok Sabha elections and I told them I won't be able to do so... at this point I don't think politics is my path anymore," he said.
But he denied that there was a wider disenchantment within the AAP that was driving many high-profile members away.
"When I joined the party, it was 90 per cent a revolution and 10 per cent a party... [but] a revolution cannot last forever. All parties that have come out of a revolution have eventually had to come to politics," Mr Khetan said.
Mr Khetan announced his resignation from the party earlier this week, days after another leader Ashutosh declared his exit. Like him, Ashutosh was also counted among the closest aides of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and a member of AAP's top leadership.
"I can only speak for myself. Ashutosh will be able to explain better why he left... I come from a middle class family. Ashutosh also comes from a middle class family. We have to run our homes, pay for our children's educations, pay EMIs," he said.
So is he joining the Congress or any other party?
"I can't say what will happen but I am not interested in joining party politics. I make it a point to never say never but I haven't spoken to anybody or made any plans," he said.