AAP leader and Delhi Assembly Speaker Ram Niwas Goel on Thursday announced his retirement from electoral politics owing to advancing age.

The party said Goel had recently written to AAP convenor Arvind Kejriwal saying that he would remain with the party and contribute with sincerity, and try to fulfill whatever responsibility is entrusted upon him.

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In his response to the development, Kejriwal, in a post on X, said, “Goyal’s decision to leave electoral politics is an emotional moment for the entire party.”

He wrote, “We respect his decision. Goyal sahab was, is and will always be the guardian of our family. The party will always need his experience and services in the future too.”

Kejriwal said the senior politician’s guidance has shown the right direction to the AAP, be it inside the House, or outside for years. He said due to Goyal’s age and health, he had recently expressed his desire to leave electoral politics a few days ago.

Meanwhile, Goyal, who represents Shahdara Assembly constituency as MLA, has been the Speaker of the Delhi Assembly since 2015, serving two terms.

Goyal’s decision to quit from electoral politics comes ahead of the upcoming legislative assembly elections for the national capital that are due in the month of February next year.

Goyal, back in 1993 contested as a BJP candidate and won as MLA from Shahdara constituency in East Delhi.