Panaji, Sep 18 (IANS): Goa AAP Convener Elvis Gomes on Friday said that he was stepping down from the post, adding that he would work at the grass-roots level and try to expand the party base ahead of the 2022 Assembly polls.

"I informed the state Executive Committee on Thursday. This one-and-a-half years ahead of the polls is crucial for the Aam Aadmi Party. The opposition is virtually non- existent. I will work at the grass-roots level to expand the party," Gomes told reporters in Panaji.

He denied reports that he would contest on a Congress ticket from Cuncolim segment, from where he contested the 2017 polls but lost.

Interestingly, earlier this week, the AAP's Goa unit General Secretary Pradeep Padgaonkar had also resigned on health grounds.

Ever since the AAP set up its state unit, it has contested one Assembly election and one Lok Sabha election in Goa, facing a rout in both. AAP currently has no legislator in the 40-member Assembly.