ROBIN ROY
Amid reports of a “reported” rift be tween Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha and his party leadership, many have been waiting for his next step. Chadha recent ly shared an Instagram Reel by a creator called, “Seedhathok”, where the latter had suggested that he float a youth-driven “Gen-Z” political party. “Interesting thought,” wrote Chadha, sharing the Reel on his Instagram sto ry. In the Instagram Reel, the creator behind the “Seedhathok” handle, Ri han said, “Every adult and youngster wants Raghav Chadha to form his own po litical party, despite ongoing differences, under the name Gen-Z Party or any name he finds suitable”. “If he joins another par ty, whichever it may be, he might not get the same lev el of support he has now or maybe, he might actually get some hate. However, start ing his own party would be a good decision. The entire youth will back him, leading to decisive success.
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Thank you,” Rihan added in the reel. Following the expulsion, Chadha reacted by saying that he had been “silenced, not defeated”. The AAP ac cused Chadha of avoiding Punjab’s issues in Parlia ment and instead indulging in “soft PR”. Soon, scores of AAP leaders, including MP Sanjay Singh, former Del hi CM Atishi, former Delhi minister Saurabh Bhardwaj targeted Chadha, alleging he was afraid to speak against PM Narendra Modi, and had wasted precious time dis cussing samosas instead of pressing national issues. AAP leader and former Delhi CM Atishi even asked him, “Why are you so afraid of the BJP? Why are you afraid of questioning PM Narendra Modi?” AAP’s exit virasat The Raghav Chadha’s ep isode may have taken many by storm but going by the Aam Aadmi Party’s viras at of dropping leaders, the party which is just around 15-years-old, it has a long history of parting ways with leaders. And in most cases, AAP has maintained a stoic silence about the exit epi sodes. In fact, most of those who left have linked their exit to disagreements over leader ship style and democracy regarding international is sues.
Names of leaders who have had a crush with the party include Yogendra Yadav, Prashant Bhushan, Alka Lamba, Shazia Ilmi and Ashutosh. In 2024, the then cabinet minister Kailash Gahlot had resigned from the ministry and AAP, citing the failure of the Arvind Kejriwal and At ishi government in fulfilling the promises, stating he had “no option” but to resign. In April 2024, then cab inet minister Raaj Kumar Anand resigned from the party and cabinet amid al legations of corruption. He joined the BJP later. The AAP following Anand’s exit, had said he was under pressure from in vestigating agencies. AAP’s Chhatarpur MLA Kartar Sin gh Tanwar also joined the BJP with Anand. Meanwhile, Dalit leader Rajendra Pal Gautam, who was a cabinet minister in Delhi, resigned from the cabinet in October 2022 amid allegations of at tending a mass conversion event.
In September 2024, he left the party and joined the Congress. Sidelined AAP Rajya Sab ha MP Raghav Chadha on Friday shared on Instagram a video titled “Voice Raised Price Paid”, a compilation of clips of him raising various issues in Parliament, amid his ongoing rift with his party. “With due respect, to those who are questioning my parliamentary perfor mance, I will let my work do the talking,” he said in the post. Since his removal as the AAP’s deputy leader in the Upper House, Chadha has shared several videos and posts on social media, making it clear that he will not take his demotion lying down. What went strong? Chadha’s critics pointed out that when party con venor Kejriwal was arrest ed and the party was going through its worst phase, Chadha was in the UK for eye surgery. They also pointed to Chadha’s absence at the recent “Jan Sabha” at New Delhi’s Jantar Mantar, which was the first public address of Kejriwal follow ing his release from jail.
Reacting to the criticisms and allegations, Chadha re sponded by saying, “Picture abhi baaki hai”. “To my colleagues in AAP who were forced to issue videos saying that ‘Raghav Chadha failed to raise Pun jab’s issues in Parliament’, here is a small trailer… Pic ture Abhi Baaki Hai. Punjab isn’t a talking point for me. It is my home, my duty, my soil, my soul,” Chadha was quoted telling in an inter view. It may be noted that even as Chadha tried to counter the allegations made by his party colleagues, since be coming an MP, the 37-year old leader had gathered significant praise from the young people for taking up the issue of student debt re lief. This made Chadha Gen Z’s favourite MP. Meaningful issues Chadha’s Rajya Sabha speeches repeatedly went viral on the internet where he regularly raised public issues like the the ordeal faced by the gig workers, financial reforms, men strual health, the recharge “scheme” used by telecom companies etc. Chadha also called for paternity leave to be recognised as a legal right in India, framing it as an issue of shared care-giv ing. Now what? All eyes are now on Chadha’s next move. For now, he is a Rajya Sabha member representing AAP and will remain so at least until 2028, when his term in the Upper House ends.
Or will he choose a different party, as is being speculat ed? Once considered the blue-eyed boy of the AAP, the widening rift between Raghav Chadha and the AAP leadership grew over time. From his absence during key political moments and prolonged silence on sensi tive issues to internal criti cism over his parliamentary approach, Chadha’s rela tionship with the party has steadily frayed. Also, Chadha was not in cluded in the AAP’s list of star campaigners for the coming Assembly elec tions in West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Assam and Puducherry. (Robin Roy is a Senior Journalist and former Senior Associate Editor, O Heraldo, Goa)
