JAMMU: Former minister Harsh Dev Singh on Thursday announced his decision to exit the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) that he joined in May last year and attempt to revive the Panthers Party founded by his uncle Prof Bhim Singh in 1982.
Prof Bhim died after a prolonged illness on May 31 last year, weeks after Harsh Dev parted ways and joined AAP where he was appointed chairman of the party’s Jammu and Kashmir coordination committee.
“We have held consultations and arrived at a decision to revive the Panthers Party. Our ancestors have given sacrifices for the party,” Harsh Dev said in the video clip.
“The people of Jammu and Kashmir need a strong, regional voice to represent their interests, and the revived Panthers Party will become their voice,” Singh, a three-time legislator from Ramnagar seat, added.
In a letter to AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal, Singh cited personal reasons for his resignation.
“Due to some personal reasons I can no longer continue in Aam Aadmi Party and am therefore quitting… This communique, as such, be treated as my resignation from J&K chairmanship of the party…,” he said, according to the letter put out on his Twitter handle.
It is not clear how Harsh’s exit from AAP will impact the party. Back in 2022, he was the third leader from the Panthers Party to join AAP. Former MLAs of the Panthers Party Balwant Singh Mankotia and Yash Paul Kundal had already joined the party.