‘Modi is absolutely wrong… I’m grateful to Rajiv Gandhi’: Shehzad Poonawalla’s latest jabs right after walking out of the BJP
Honestly, some people just can’t switch off. Shehzad Poonawalla is one of them. The man spent years as the BJP’s national spokesperson, the one who’d show up on every debate channel and throw sharp lines without blinking. A few days ago he finally quit the party. And barely 48 hours later, he’s back on X doing what he does best — taking digs, twisting the knife a little, and somehow still sounding like he’s on Modi’s side. On Wednesday he posted a video of his old TV clips and wrote something that made a lot of people stop scrolling. He said he would always remain grateful to Rajiv Gandhi. Why? Because Rajiv gave India Rahul Gandhi, and Rahul, according to Shehzad, is the real reason Narendra Modi became prime minister in 2014, 2019 and 2024 — and will become PM again in 2029. “Forever indebted to Shri Rajiv Gandhi ji. He gave us @RahulGandhi who ensured PM @narendramodi became PM in 2014, 19, 24 and will become PM again in 2029. Inshallah. Rajiv Gandhi is therefore the biggest Modi ji supporter like me.” That’s pure Shehzad. He’s basically saying, “Thank you Rajiv, for giving us the best campaign manager Modi could ever have.” You can almost hear the half-smile. He didn’t stop there. Just a day earlier the Prime Minister had used the phrase “dimagi Naxal” in his Independence Day speech — people with a Naxal mindset who, Modi said, still try to create trouble even after the armed ones have been largely cleared out. Shehzad’s reply was classic: “Modi is absolutely wrong to categorise folks as DIMAGI NAXAL. They should have been called बददिमगी Naxal.” Brainless Naxals, basically. And just to keep the old habit alive, he also reminded everyone that Rahul Gandhi was a Pappu, is a Pappu, and will forever remain a Pappu. Now, let’s be clear about the resignation itself. Shehzad had first written to the party at the end of July saying he needed to quit because of money and personal issues. The BJP told him to think it over. On 17 August he wrote again, this time firmly: please accept it. He thanked Modi, Amit Shah, Rajnath Singh, Nitin Nabin, BL Santhosh — the whole lot — and said he was leaving only the “vyavastha”, not the “vyakti” or the “vichar”. In simple words, the organisation, not the people or the ideology. He still calls himself a lifelong Modi follower. He just needs a proper job again because the spokesperson post doesn’t pay a salary and the rent doesn’t wait. He’s been saying for a while that he had been planning this exit since 2024. Politics had become a full-time unpaid job and he had bills to clear. Fair enough. He also made it clear he isn’t going back to the Congress. The only way he’d even consider it, he joked, is if Sonia, Rahul and Priyanka are removed and someone apologises for Nehru. Which is his polite way of saying “never”. What feels different now is the freedom. When he was official spokesperson he still had to stay within certain lines. Now those lines are gone. So the same man who used to defend every government decision is freely telling the Prime Minister that “dimagi Naxal” is the wrong phrase, while still calling Rajiv Gandhi Modi’s biggest unintentional supporter. It’s the same old style, just without the party filter. People who’ve watched him for years know this is classic Shehzad. The sarcasm, the wordplay, the ability to attack the opposition while sounding like he’s still firmly in the Modi camp. He joined the BJP in 2017 as a young Pasmanda Muslim, non-dynast, and rose to national spokesperson. He keeps saying no other party would have given a guy like him that kind of platform. Even after quitting, that gratitude is still there. So where does he go from here? He says private sector, while continuing to support Modi’s vision in whatever way he can. Whether that means quieter days or more of these sharp posts, nobody knows yet. But if Wednesday’s messages are any sign, the man hasn’t lost his edge. He’s just changed the room he’s speaking from. The badge is gone. The microphone, it seems, is still on. Sources: Hindustan Times coverage of Shehzad Poonawalla’s 19 August posts and resignation letter; Live Hindustan and Navbharat Times reports on the same social media comments; India Today, The Print and Moneycontrol on the resignation process and his “vyavastha not vyakti” statement; multiple outlets reporting PM Modi’s Independence Day reference to “dimagi Naxals”. @Rohit Manral
Shehzad Poonawalla Presses BJP to Accept His Resignation After Party First Said No
Look, political exits in India rarely happen cleanly or quietly. On Monday, 17 August 2026, Shehzad Poonawalla, the BJP’s national spokesperson who has been a familiar, often fiery face on television debates for years, made it clear he wants out. He has submitted a second resignation letter and is pressing the party to accept it after the first one, sent on 30 July, was politely turned down. Poonawalla shared the fresh letter on X. In it he writes with the mix of formality and personal warmth that has marked a lot of his public communication. He addresses party president Nitin Nabin (sometimes spelled Nabeen in the letterhead) and recalls the earlier note: “Please read this letter in continuation with my last letter dated 30th of July 2026, where I offered to resign unconditionally from all positions and primary membership of the BJP due to pressing financial and personal circumstances.” He admits the party’s response touched him. “It was extremely touching and I am indeed grateful that the party refused to accept my resignation letter immediately and requested me to reconsider the decision.” But after “long and hard contemplation,” he has decided he wants to be relieved of the national spokesperson role and active primary membership. Recent events involving “certain individuals” (whom he says he has already discussed in detail with the leadership) have only reinforced that choice. The tone stays respectful throughout. He offers “gratefulness, love, affection, and highest regard” for Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Nitin Nabin, Home Minister Amit Shah, Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and organisation general secretary B.L. Santosh. He thanks the party for the platform and opportunities of the last five years. He makes a point of saying he is leaving the “Vyavastha” (the organisational system) but not the “Vyakti or Vichar” (the person or the ideology). He plans to move into the private sector because of those emergency financial and personal pressures, yet promises to keep supporting Modi’s vision and the BJP’s work “wherever possible and in whatever format possible.” In the accompanying X post he put it more personally: a young Pasmanda Muslim, non-dynast, rising the way he did “would not even be possible” in any other country or party. He bids a warm goodbye to the position and the party he loves, but insists the larger mission of Viksit Bharat and “Make India Great Again” will continue with more vigour under Modi. “Vande Mataram. Jai Hind.” This is not a sudden break. Back at the end of July, reports first surfaced that Poonawalla had tendered his resignation citing personal reasons. Around the same time he quietly updated his X bio, removing every reference to being a BJP national spokesperson. What remained was a neat self-description: Religion Islam, Culture Hindu, Ideology Bhartiya, Author of GST Ki Yatra, and lifelong follower of PM Narendra Modi. That change alone set the political chatters off. Sources at the time confirmed he had already submitted the letter; an official party statement was expected but never quite materialised in the weeks that followed. Poonawalla’s political journey itself explains why the exit is being watched. He started young, around 18-19 years ago, in the Congress. In 2017 he publicly challenged the party’s presidential election process as rigged in favour of Rahul Gandhi and walked out. Soon after he joined the BJP and was made a national spokesperson. For nearly a decade he became one of the party’s most visible television faces, defending the government, attacking the opposition, and often locking horns with his own brother Tehseen Poonawalla, who stayed on the other side of the ideological fence. In recent months he had already begun signalling that the time to step back from active politics was approaching. He had thought 2024 would be the end after Modi’s third term, but stayed on for key state elections in Delhi, Maharashtra, West Bengal and elsewhere. After those, he said, it felt right to move on. The financial and personal pressures he now cites appear to have accelerated that timeline. What happens next is still unclear. The BJP has not issued a formal response to the second letter as of Monday afternoon. In Indian politics, parties sometimes hold on to useful public faces a little longer than the individual would like; other times they accept the exit with quiet dignity. Poonawalla has left the door open for continued informal support of the party’s larger goals. Whether that means the occasional television appearance, writing, or something else in the private sector remains to be seen. For now the story is straightforward. A man who spent years arguing passionately for the BJP on national television has decided the organisational chapter is closed. He asked once, the party asked him to stay and rethink, and now he has asked again, more firmly. The letter is public, the reasons are personal and financial, and the gratitude is repeated. In the often noisy world of Indian political messaging, this particular exit has been unusually measured. Sources: Hindustan Times report dated 17 August 2026; Shehzad Poonawalla’s X post and the two-page resignation letter he shared the same day; earlier July 2026 reports from News18, NDTV and other outlets citing sources on the first resignation letter and the bio update. @Rohit Manral