Lok Sabha elections: AAP nominee against Salman Khurshid quits, claims corruption in party

LUCKNOW: In a setback to the fledgling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), its Farukhabad candidate against Union minister Salman Khurshid today withdrew from the contest and resigned from the party alleging "corruption" in the outfit.

"I have returned the ticket and left the party as I am not getting any support from the organisation... There is corruption in the internal organisation," journalist-turned- politician Mukul Tripathi, who was the party's nominee from Farukhabad in Uttar Pradesh, told PTI.

"The Lok Sabha election in-charge there (in Farukhabad) used to tell me that you have to use "takat" (strength) and source to get party leaders for campaigning in the segment. He advised me to use 'jugad' to get the dates of party leaders," Tripathi alleged.

Alleging that there was corruption in the organisation, Tripathi said, when he asked, the party unit in Farukhabad gave him a list of only 1,700 party followers, though it had earlier claimed to have as many as 50,000 supporters in the area.

"I tried to call party leader Sanjay Singh but all my attempts went in vain... I was contesting elections with my own resources by taking money from relatives and friends but the party unit there wanted me to spend more, which I could not afford," he said.

"AAP is only befooling the young generation. It did not have any mass base and also faulted in fighting corruption within its own organisation," he added.

Asked about his future course of action, Tripathi said that he would sit with his supporters and decide.

The candidature of Tripathi, who is differently-able, was announced by AAP in its first list to take on External Affairs Minister Khurshid.

He also alleged that during party leader Arvind Kejriwal's visit to Farukhabad, the local unit had collected over Rs 15 lakh but spent only Rs 4 to 5 lakh. "I also demanded that it should be inquired, where the rest of amount had gone," he added.