New Delhi: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has officially entered a period of internal turbulence as a public war of words erupted between senior leader Saurabh Bharadwaj and Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha.
The friction follows the party’s decision on Thursday to remove Chadha from his prestigious post as Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha, replacing him with Punjab MP Ashok Mittal.
The move, initially framed as a routine reshuffle, has quickly unmasked a deep-seated rift within the party’s top brass.
‘Silenced, Not Defeated’
Taking to social media shortly after his demotion, Raghav Chadha posted a defiant video message captioned, “Main dariya hoon, waqt aane par sailaab banunga” (I am a river, when the time comes, I will become a storm). In the video, Chadha claimed he was being “silenced” for raising issues that affect the common man, such as gig worker rights, food inflation at airports, and menstrual hygiene. He questioned whether speaking on public welfare had become a “mistake” within his own party.
Bharadwaj’s Scathing Retort
The response from the AAP leadership was swift and uncompromising. Delhi unit chief and Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj released a video message directly addressing “Raghav Bhai,” invoking a famous Hindi film dialogue: “Jo darr gaya, samjho marr gaya” (He who is afraid is as good as dead).
Bharadwaj accused Chadha of indulging in “soft PR” and failing to confront the BJP-led Central government on core political issues. “Our duty as AAP soldiers is to raise the voice of the people and question the government fearlessly,” Bharadwaj stated. He alleged that Chadha had “consistently hung back” during key Opposition protests and had even refused to sign a motion regarding the impeachment of the Chief Election Commissioner.
The Absence That Hurt
The primary point of contention appears to be Chadha’s perceived distance from the party during its most trying times. Bharadwaj pointedly referred to the period in 2024 when AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal was arrested, noting that Chadha was “not even in the country” and was “hiding somewhere else” while other leaders were in the streets or in jail.
“We need to raise the real issues while being unafraid. Please look carefully at where you started and where you have reached,” Bharadwaj added, suggesting that Chadha’s focus on “minor topics” like samosa pricing was a waste of the party’s limited parliamentary time.
Strategic Shift In Rajya Sabha
In a move seen as a further attempt to isolate the MP, AAP has reportedly written to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat requesting that Chadha no longer be allotted speaking time from the party’s official quota. This effectively renders the once-vociferous spokesperson a “backbencher” within his own legislative group.
While new Deputy Leader Ashok Mittal has termed the change a “regular process,” political analysts suggest this is the climax of a disconnect that began nearly a year ago. As the AAP prepares for future electoral challenges, the message from the leadership is clear: loyalty and direct confrontation with political rivals take precedence over individual branding and “soft” policy advocacy.