New Delhi, Aug 28: The Aam Aadmi Party has denied reports which claimed that its leader Atishi Marlena has been asked to drop her "Christian-sounding" surname. Atishi has taken the decision on her own accord, said AAP leaders on Tuesday.

Atishi's surname has disappeared from AAP banners, pamphlets and promotional materials. Her Twitter handle has also been changed from @@Atishimarlena to @AtishiAAP. The party website has also removed the surname from her name.

The changes came shortly after Atishi was announced as the AAP candidate from East Delhi for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. Party sources, quoted by reports, allege that the BJP is running a propaganda claiming that Atishi is Christian. This has compelled the party to drop her surname, the sources claimed.

Although Atishi belongs to a Punjabi Rajput Hindu family, her surname creates confusion about her religious identity. Marlena, although, is not her ancestral surname. Her father Professor Vijay Singh had given the surname to her daughter after being inspired by Marx and Lenin -- two communist ideologues.

AAP leader Akshay Marathe has categorically denied the claim that Atishi was asked by the party to ditch her surname.

Atishi as earned recognition in Delhi for her work in the State Education Department. Since the formation of the AAP government to April this year, she was appointed as advisor to Delhi Education Minister Manish Sisodia. She also headed the panel which drafted AAP's manifesto in the 2015 assembly polls.

Prior to joining politics, Atishi was an academician, having studied from Oxford University and Delhi's St Stephens.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Aug 28, 2018 04:46 PM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).