Two days after dismal show in Zilla Panchayat polls, AAP removes its Goa president Amit Palekar

Panaji: The Aam Aadmi Party has removed its Goa unit president Amit Palekar from the post, an AAP functionary announced on Wednesday, two days after the outfit fared poorly in the Zilla Panchayat (ZPs) elections.

AAP Goa in-charge Atishi said the Political Affairs Committee (PAC) of the party, its key decision making body, has decided to relieve Palekar from the post of the state unit president with immediate effect.

Goa state general secretary (organisation) Shrikrishna Parab will hold the additional charge of president of the AAP state unit until further orders, she said.

While no reason was mentioned for dropping Palekar from the post, the announcement comes two days after the AAP's dismal performance in the Zilla Panchayat (district councils) elections, whose results were announced on Monday.

The AAP had contested on 42 seats and supported an Independent in another in the December 20 elections. However, the Arvind Kejriwal-led party managed to win just one seat.

The BJP-MGP alliance won 32 of the 50 ZP seats on offer, while the Congress bagged 10. The ZPs in North Goa and South Goa districts perform various functions aimed at the administration and development of rural areas.

Palekar, a lawyer by training, joined the AAP in run up to the 2022 Goa assembly elections and was projected as its chief ministerial face. The party went on win two seats in the 40-member Assembly.