(Image source from: apnlive.com)
Raghav Chadha shared his thoughts on Monday regarding the numerous questions he has been getting since he moved from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in an open video on Instagram. He explained that the party has changed since he first joined.
The 37-year-old MP in the Rajya Sabha lost one million followers on Instagram in just one day after switching parties last week. Now, Chadha has returned to the platform, which is often seen as a measure of a politician's popularity among younger voters, to try to stop the drop in followers and clarify his stance. He opened up to his audience by stating that the party has evolved over the years and is not what it once was. Critiquing the current situation, he mentioned, "This party is not the same as before. Now, there is a harmful work atmosphere. They restrict your ability to work. They silence you in Parliament. "
Chadha noted that he dedicated 15 years of his youth to the Aam Aadmi Party and mentioned that he was one of its original members. He stated, "I entered politics not to build a career for myself. I was a founding member of a political party. I dedicated 15 years of my best years to this party with a lot of effort and commitment. " When discussing why he decided to join the BJP, he revealed that he started to feel out of place in AAP and referred to himself as "the right person, but in the wrong party. " He considered different paths before making his decision, such as leaving politics completely, attempting to change things within the party, or joining a different political group. Ultimately, he chose to take the third route. Raghav Chadha, along with six other MPs from AAP in the Rajya Sabha -- Ashok Kumar Mittal, Harbhajan Singh, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Swati Maliwal, and Rajinder Gupta -- left the party to join the BJP on April 24. Currently, all of these lawmakers are part of the BJP's group of 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.
