Gen Z damage control? Raghav Chadha calls AAP toxic workplace, explains switch

In his first remarks since joining the BJP, Raghav Chadha said he quit the Aam Aadmi Party after growing disillusioned with it. He said the move followed disappointment with the party's "toxic" working style and added that he would remain active in public life.

In Short

• Chadha said supporters and critics had sought reasons behind his decision
• He described himself as a founding member who gave AAP 15 years
• He alleged the party now blocks work and stifles speech in Parliament

Raghav Chadha on Monday broke his silence over the flood of queries he has been receiving since he switched from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), in a candid video on Instagram. Defending his move, Chadha said the party was no longer the same as when he had joined it.

The 37-year-old Rajya Sabha MP lost a million followers on Instagram in a single day after he jumped ship last week. Now, Chadha has taken to the platform -- often seen as a barometer of a politician’s popularity among Gen Z voters -- in what appears to be a bid to arrest the decline and clear the air among his followers.

Opening up to his audience, he said the party had changed over time and was no longer what it used to be. Criticising its present functioning, he said, “Today, this party is no longer the old party. Today, this party has a toxic work environment. You are stopped from working. You are stopped from speaking in Parliament.”

Chadha said he had invested 15 years of his youth with the Aam Aadmi Party and described himself as one of its founding members. He said, "I didn't come into politics to make my career. I became a founding member of a political party. I gave 15 years of my prime youth to this party with my blood, sweat, and a lot of hard work."

Explaining why he chose to join the BJP, Chadha said he had begun to feel out of place within AAP and described himself as "the right man, but in the wrong party."

He said he had weighed several options before taking the decision, including leaving politics altogether, trying to bring about change within the party, or moving to another political platform. He said he eventually chose the third option.

Raghav Chadha, along with six other AAP Rajya Sabha MPs -- Ashok Kumar Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Swati Maliwal, and Rajinder Gupta -- quit the party to join the BJP on April 24. As of now, all these lawmakers are listed among the BJP’s 113 Rajya Sabha MPs.

Chadha also said his decision was not an isolated one. He said, "Not one, not two, not three, not four, not five, not six-seven MPs have decided to break their relationship with this political party." He added, "One person can be wrong, two people can be wrong, but not seven people can be wrong."

Rejecting suggestions that he had left because of pressure or fear, Chadha said the decision came from deeper dissatisfaction. He said, "We did not leave out of fear but because of disappointment, disenchantment, and disgust."

He also said that leaving AAP would not mean stepping back from public life. Chadha said he would remain politically active and raise public issues. "I will continue to raise your problems with more energy and enthusiasm," he said.

In his remarks, Chadha presented his exit from AAP and his decision to join the BJP as the result of a long period of disillusionment with the party's functioning, while insisting that he would continue his political work and public outreach.

- Ends