Former five-time Congress MLA Mateen Ahmed on Sunday joined the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) ahead of the Delhi Assembly elections likely to take place in February 2025. The development comes days after his son Chaudhry Zubair Ahmad and daughter-in-law Shagufta Choudhry joined the party. Mateen Ahmed was elected to the Delhi Assembly from the Seelampur constituency in northeast Delhi five consecutive times.
Recently, AAP announced that Chaudhary Zubair Ahmed and Shagufta Chaudhary joined the party after meeting former Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal, who is also its convenor. Shagufta Chaudhary is a councillor in the Municipal Corporation of Delhi.
AAP insiders said there was speculation that the party might drop Abdul Rahman from Seelampur and replace him with Chaudhary Zubair Ahmed. Later, Abdul Rahman announced his resignation as president of AAP's minority cell.
He said in a post on X, "Have taken this decision due to growing ideological distance. Hope the party and supporters will understand this step by me." The Seelampur MLA, however, told PTI that he was not angry with the party and his decision to resign was due to his growing family responsibilities.
"It's good that the AAP family is growing," he told PTI after Chaudhary Zubair Ahmed's joining.