Brijesh Kalappa quits Congress after 25 years, to join AAP?

Congress' known face on news channel debates and Supreme Court Advocate Brijesh Kalappa has resigned from the primary membership of the party, ending his 25-years long association. In a letter to Congress President Sonia Gandhi, he said, in the recent past he has been finding himself "lacking in passion", while his own performance has been "listless and perfunctory". With the news of him calling it quits with the Congress, there is speculation that he may join the Aam Aadmi Party.

Pointing out that he has been representing the party on Hindi, English and Kannada channels since the UPA years till 2013, for almost a decade, and has clocked 6,497 debates, he said. Besides, “the party has been regularly assigning political work to me which I have performed to the best of my satisfaction,” he said. "Even at the worst of times for the Party in the aftermath of 2014 and 2019 debacles, I have never felt enervated and lacking in energy and enthusiasm. But, in the recent past I have been finding myself lacking in passion, while my own performance has been listless and perfunctory," Kalappa said.

"It is under these circumstances that I am left with little option but to resign from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress and to end an association that began in 1997," he added.

Kalappa, who hails from Kodagu district, was a contender for a party ticket for the 2018 Assembly elections in the state. However, the ticket was instead given to HS Chandramouli

According to some party sources, he might have also been upset over not being considered as candidate for recent MLC and upcoming Rajya Sabha polls in the state.

The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has begun efforts to make in-roads in Karnataka in the run-up to the 2023 Assembly elections in the state. Recently, it inducted former Bengaluru Police Commissioner Bhaskar Rao and farmer leader Kodihalli Chandrashekar into its ranks.