In a political development that has rattled the core of the Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Friday announced his decision to join BJP along with three other leaders from the party. At a press conference held in Delhi on Friday, Chadha claimed that seven other AAP Rajya Sabha MPs will follow his lead.
From Finance to Politics: Chadha’s AAP journey
Born in Delhi in 1998, Chadha is a graduate in the field of commerce, who attained his diploma from Delhi University. Chadha previously worked as a Chartered Accountant with Deloitte and Grant Thornton before joining mainstream politics.
Chadha’s political tenure began at the age of 23 when he joined Kejriwal’s AAP around the time of its formation.
Chadha’s first major political assignment included being part of the team that drafted the Delhi Lokpal Bill in 2012. A project that was assigned to him personally by Kejriwal himself.
Following this assignment Chadha went on to become a well-known face of the party, its youngest national spokesperson and one of their most articulate TV debaters.
As per reports by NDTV, it was around this time that Chadha had built a reputation as the party’s young, suave and data-driven face at a time when AAP was more associated with anti-corruption street protests.
Rise within AAP
Chadha’s next big promotion came in 2015, when he was entrusted with the party’s finances at the age of 26. Chadha contested and won his first major election five years after that.
In February 2020, Chadha contested from Rajinder Nagar in the Delhi assembly election and won against BJP’s RP Singh with a margin of 20,058 votes, polling a massive 57.06 per cent of total votes.
Following the election, he was appointed vice-chairman of the Delhi Jal Board, where the former AAP MLA focused on ensuring 24×7 piped water supply and cleaning the Yamuna River.
During his time at the board, Chadha was significantly improving Delhi’s water management systems. Following his meteoric rise within the party, Chadha was nominated by AAP for the Rajya Sabha from Punjab for a six-year term in March, 2022.
Following his nomination for Rajya Sabha, Chadha was also appointed a member of Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance, the committee that oversees laws and policies drafted by three union ministries and the NITI Aayog.
The Upper House berth marked his transition from a state-level operator to a national political figure who later went on to command a huge social media based influence amassing an estimated 14.5 million followers on Instagram.
Leading up to days of his resignation, Chadha was removed from the post of its deputy leader in Rajya Sabha by AAP citing concerns about his behavior within the parliament and differences in the party.
The party also moved to restrict his speaking time in Parliament from its quota — a humiliation Chadha responded to publicly. “I am silenced, not defeated.”
It was in the aftermath of these developments that Chadha publicly announced his exit from AAP while criticising the party leadership. Chadha stated that after 15 years, he felt he was “the right man in the wrong party” and accused the party of deviating from its core principles. He argued the party now operates for personal benefit rather than national interest.
AAP’s reaction
Senior leader Sanjay Singh characterized the move as a state-sponsored “shameful game” orchestrated by the BJP. Meanwhile Chadha’s initial mentor and AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal labeled the defection a betrayal of the people of Punjab (Where Chadha had constructed AAP’s campaign) stating on X that the “BJP has once again given Punjabis a shove”.