Ashutosh claims he was told that without highlighting his caste, it will be difficult for him to win the 2014 Lok Saha election. (Photo: Facebook/AshutoshAuthor)

Former Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Ashutosh has accused the party of having tried to invoke caste sentiments by using his surname during elections. Ashutosh claimed that he was forced to use Gupta as his surname during 2014 Lok Sabha election.

Ashutosh said that in the run up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election, when he was introduced to the AAP workers as a candidate, his surname Gupta was promptly mentioned despite his protest. Ashutosh does not use his surname in public.

"I was told that without highlighting my caste, it will be difficult to win. They asked how you will win the election otherwise. There are many votes of your caste in the constituency," Ashutosh said in a tweet.

Ashutosh contested on an AAP ticket from Chandni Chowk against BJP's Harhvardhan and Congress's Kapil Sibal.

This comes days after news broke out that the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party has asked Aatishi Marlena to drop her surname because it apparently sounds like a Christian surname to the people.

Atishi Marlena will be contesting the 2019 election from Delhi. Until recently, she was the advisor to the Delhi government on matters related to education.

In his tweet, Ashutosh said: "In 23 years of my journalism, no one asked my caste, surname. [I] was known by my name. But as I was introduced to party workers as Lok Sabha candidate in 2014, my surname was promptly mentioned despite my protest."

Ashutosh had recently decided to quit the Aam Aadmi Party citing personal reasons.

However, nearly two hours after his first tweet, Ashutosh issued a clarification on his tweet and alleged that his statement is being "misinterpreted".

He said: "I am no longer with AAP, not constrained by party discipline and free to express my views. It will be wrong to attribute my words as attack on AAP."

Ashutosh said he is not a "member of anti-AAP brigade".

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