Why Raghav Chadha, once Arvind Kejriwal's blue-eyed boy, quit AAP after 15 years
In a major blow to AAP, Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha announced his exit from the party after 15 years and said he would join the BJP, along with six other parliamentarians. The move came amid a rift between Chadha and AAP after his removal as the party's Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha.
In a massive jolt to the Arvind Kejriwal-led AAP, Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha on Friday announced his exit from the party after 15 years and will join the BJP along with six other parliamentarians. The move came weeks after Chadha was stripped of as AAP's Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha, triggering a rift within the party.
At a press briefing in Delhi, the 37-year-old, once a poster boy of Kejriwal, alleged that his own party silenced him and that he was the "right man in a wrong party." He said that he, along with his colleagues Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, will also join the BJP. Interestingly, Mittal had replaced Chadha as the Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha.
Later, Chadha, Pathak and Mittal joined the BJP in the presence of party chief Nitin Nabin.
Chadha, a former chartered accountant and the youngest MP, also announced that four other AAP parliamentarians – former Indian cricketer Harbhajan Singh, Rajinder Gupta, Vikram Sahney and rebel MP Swati Maliwal – are set to switch to the BJP. This will result in seven of AAP’s 10 Rajya Sabha MPs crossing over to the BJP, surpassing the two-thirds threshold required to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law.
Chadha had been with the AAP since its formation in 2012, emerging as a trusted aide to Kejriwal, who rose to power in Delhi in 2015 on the back of the anti-corruption movement.
Senior AAP leader Sanjay Singh responded to the development, and claimed that the BJP had poached the seven AAP MPs, including Chadha, through 'Operation Lotus' and that the people of Punjab had been betrayed.
WHY CHADHA LEFT AAP?
Justifying his switch to the BJP from AAP, Chadha claimed the Kejriwal-led party deviated from its core principles.
"The AAP, which I nurtured with my blood and sweat and gave 15 years of my youth to, has deviated from its principles, values and core morals. Now, this party does not work in the interest of the nation but for its personal benefits. For the past few years, I could feel that I am the right man in the wrong party. So, today, we announce that I am distancing myself from the AAP and getting close to the public," Chadha said.
Praising Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Chadha said the NDA government took several bold decisions, such as uprooting terrorism and bringing India among the top global economies.
"The people have endorsed this leadership not once, not twice, but three times. We all feel fortunate to work under the leadership of PM Modi. To those who felt disappointed that, as an MP, I might not be able to raise the issues of ordinary citizens because my own party had silenced my voice, I want to assure them not to worry. I will continue to raise all your issues with the same commitment, enthusiasm and energy,” he said.
Chadha alleged that the party that was formed to fight corruption was "deeply trapped in the hands of corrupt and compromised individuals".
"All these people gave up everything and came together with the resolve to build a corruption-free India and established this party. I was a founding member of this party, and perhaps very few people know it better than I do. Together, with full commitment and dedication, we built the party in Delhi, established it in Punjab, and tried to expand it to other states," he added.
THE GROWING RIFT BETWEEN CHADHA AND AAP
Once seen as the youngest MP in the country and a trusted aide of Kejriwal, Chadha played a key role in AAP’s 2022 Punjab Assembly election victory. But over the past year, tensions between Chadha and the party leadership steadily deepened.
Senior AAP leaders accused Chadha of softening his party’s stance in Parliament, alleging that he avoided aggressively targeting the Centre and PM Modi. They cited his refusal to sign a notice seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and his absence from Opposition walkouts on key issues.
Chadha was not even included in the list of star campaigners for AAP in the Assembly polls held in Kerala, Assam, Puducherry, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal.
Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh, Delhi Leader of Opposition Atishi and Delhi AAP chief Saurabh Bharadwaj publicly questioned his loyalty to the party line. Mann had also claimed that Chadha had drifted from core political issues, saying he had raisied the issue of exorbitant prices of samosas at airports. Bharadwaj alleged he failed to raise Punjab-related concerns and remained absent during crucial moments, including Kejriwal’s arrest in the liquor policy case in 2024.
Atishi also questioned Chadha’s absence during the protests following Kejriwal’s arrest, asking whether fear of the BJP had driven him to stay away in London. It all culminated in Chadha being demoted as the Deputy Leader of AAP in the Rajya Sabha.
Responding to the criticism, Chadha dismissed all allegations as lies and invoked a line from the blockbuster film Dhurandhar, saying, “ghayal hoon isiliye ghatak hoon” (I am wounded but still dangerous). Now a few days later, Chadha delivered his biggest political jolt yet today – walking out of AAP with six other MPs and setting the stage for a dramatic switch to the BJP.