AAP MLA Alka Lamba quits party, says 'time to say good bye'

New Delhi: Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)'s disgruntled MLA Alka Lamba announces her exit from party on Friday with a tweet saying it was "time to say good bye".

"The time has come to say 'Good Bye' to #AAP and to resign from the primary membership of the party. The past six years' journey was a great learning for me. Thanks to all," Alka Lamba tweeted.

On Sunday, Alka Lamba had said that she has decided to resign from the primary membership of the party and will contest the upcoming Delhi Assembly polls as an independent candidate.

The AAP said that it is ready to accept her resignation even on Twitter.

Chandni Chowk MLA Alka Lamba, who has been at odds with the party leadership for some time, said she took the decision after consulting the people of her constituency through Jan Sabha.

Earlier this week, she had met with Congress president Sonia Gandhi, setting off speculation that she would return to her old party ahead of state polls next year.

Lamba said that she will soon resign from the primary membership of the party but will continue to be an MLA of the assembly.

Reacting to her remarks, AAP spokesperson Saurabh Bhardwaj in a tweet said, "She has announced this a dozen of times in the past. It takes 1 min to send a written resignation letter to party leadership. We will accept it on Twitter too."

On Thursday, Lamba had told PTI that she had been disrespected by the party on several occasions.

After the Aam Aadmi Party's defeat in the Lok Sabha polls, she had sought accountability from party chief Arvind Kejriwal following which she was removed from the official WhatsApp group of its lawmakers.

Lamba also refused to campaign for the party in the Lok Sabha polls and even refrained from participating in Kejriwal's roadshow after she was asked to walk behind his car during the event.

In April, Lamba engaged in a bitter Twitter spat with Bhardwaj, who in taunt, had asked her to resign from the party.

Alka Lamba had first hit a rough patch with the AAP over its decision to pass a resolution to revoke Rajiv Gandhi's Bharat Ratna. Lamba had raised objections to the party's resolution.

In December, Lamba said in a tweet that the AAP had asked her to support the resolution, which she refused. She then added that she was ready to face any punishment because of her actions.

Alka Lamba had won the Chandni Chowk assembly seat in the 2013 Delhi election.

(With inputs from PTI)