Addressing a press conference on Friday, alongside party colleagues Sandeep Pathak and Ashok Mittal, Chadha made his most decisive move yet.“We have decided that we, the two-thirds members belonging to the AAP in Rajya Sabha, exercise the provisions of the Constitution of India and merge ourselves with the BJP,” he said.Explaining his departure, Chadha added, “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 did not just leave AAP, he also made it clear where he now stood. He praised the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi claiming that under his leadership “the government has taken several strong decisions that earlier leaders were perhaps hesitant to take.”At the same time, he attempted to reassure supporters that his political priorities would remain unchanged. “To those who felt disappointed that, as a Member of Parliament, 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’s exit, coupled with his sharp attack on the party leadership, signals more than just a personal fallout. His decision to part ways and align with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has now pushed the party into an existential moment.

Chadha, who was once dubbed the architect of AAP’s 2022 win in Punjab was seen as one of AAP’s most articulate and influential young leaders. However, that proximity to power gradually turned into distance after the visible cracks began to emerge quietly, before becoming impossible to ignore.The tipping point came on April 2, when the AAP leadership removed Chadha as its deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha and replaced him with Ashok Mittal.What made the move especially stinging was the party’s formal request that Chadha be denied speaking time from its allotted quota in the Rajya Sabha.The internal rift escalated sharply after the decision communicated to the Rajya Sabha secretariat was reflected on the official website the same day. It signalled a clear breakdown in ties between Chadha and the party leadership led by Arvind Kejriwal.

‘Silenced, not defeated’

The flashpoint came when Raghav Chadha publicly questioned his removal, setting off a sharp and coordinated counterattack from within the party.In a series of video messages and statements, he framed the action not just as a demotion, but as an attempt to silence him. “Silenced, not defeated,” he said in a message addressed to the “aam aadmi,” questioning whether raising public issues in Parliament had become a punishable offence within his own party.He escalated his tone further, warning, “Do not take my silence as my defeat. I am like that river which can turn into a flood when the time comes.”“Is raising public issues a crime? Have I made a mistake? Have I done something wrong? Whenever I talk, I only talk about problems faced by common people. Why would someone stop me from speaking and raising issues of public interest,” he said in the video.The video message came hours after Chadha posted a montage on social media highlighting issues he said he had raised in his capacity as deputy leader of the party in the House. It mentioned concerns such as the tax burden on the middle class, the data expiry problem, paternity leave as a right in India, and excess baggage charges at airports.

War of narratives

Within hours of Chadha’s broadside, AAP leaders hit back in unison, branding their colleague “afraid and compromised” and accusing him of deviating from the party’s ideological line.Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Singh accused Chadha of staying silent on key political issues. “On all these issues, Raghav Chadha keeps silent. I would like to tell him that we are foot soldiers of Arvind Kejriwal who has taught us to fearlessly fight against Modi,” he said.Former Delhi chief minister Atishi also questioned Chadha’s absence during critical moments, particularly during Kejriwal’s arrest in March 2024. “We defended you then…But today, even I want to ask that when Kejriwal was arrested, were you scared of the BJP and therefore ran away to London out of fear?” she said.Senior party leaders alleged that Chadha had deviated from the party line, pointing to his refusal to sign a notice seeking the removal of Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar and his failure to join opposition walkouts in Parliament.Punjab chief minister Bhagwant Mann defended the party’s decision, calling it routine. “This is regular party functioning. It is his call on what statement he wants to make,” Mann said, adding, “Those who break party lines should be subjected to action.”He further emphasised party discipline, saying, “In Lok Sabha or Rajya Sabha, the opposition takes many decisions. Any member who goes against the party line, it goes against the party whip. Hence, if you go against the whip, you are bound to face action.”Taking a sharper tone, Mann said Chadha appeared “compromised” and questioned his choice of issues in Parliament. “If the party gives a line to raise specific issues… but someone raises issues of samosas at airports or pizza delivery time, won’t it raise doubts that he is talking from a different station?” he remarked.AAP leader Anurag Dhanda echoed similar concerns, alleging that Chadha had been hesitant to take on the central government. “The party get little time to speak in Parliament, under which it can either save the nation or call out for ‘making samosas cheap at the airport,'” he said.“We are Kejriwal’s soldiers. Fearlessness is our first identity. If someone fears Modi, will they fight for the country?” Dhanda added, accusing Chadha of avoiding key political issues and refusing to sign the proposal against the Chief Election Commissioner.He further said, “In Gujarat, our hundreds of workers have been arrested by BJP’s police — will the honourable MP say something in the House? In West Bengal, the right to vote is being snatched away… For the past few years, you’ve been scared, Raghav. You hesitate to speak against Modi. You hesitate to speak on the real issues of the country.”Atishi also raised concerns over larger national issues, saying, “Today, our nation is passing through an immense crisis. There is a grave threat to our Constitution… yet you are not raising any questions; why are you seemingly afraid to speak out against it?”As the war of words intensified, AAP leaders openly labelled Chadha as “compromised” and accused him of engaging in “soft PR” instead of taking a strong political stand. The taunt, “Jo Dar Gaya Samjho Mar Gaya” also captured the increasingly bitter tone of the confrontation.What began as an internal reshuffle turned into a full-blown political slugfest, exposing deep fractures within the party, with Chadha positioning himself as a silenced voice of the “aam aadmi,” and the AAP leadership painting him as a leader who strayed from its core political line.

A battle far from over

Chadha categorically denied these allegations in the videos posted, calling them “white lies” and challenging the party to provide evidence.“The first allegation they put against me was that I did not walk out with the opposition. This is a white lie, and I challenge you to give me one example, one incident, where the opposition walked out and I didn’t support them,” he said, adding that, “There are CCTV cameras everywhere in the parliament. Show me footage and it will become clear.”On the issue of the motion against the Chief Election Commissioner, Chadha maintained that no party leader had asked him formally or informally to sign it. He questioned why he was being singled out when several other MPs had also not signed the motion, noting that the opposition had more than enough members to meet the required number of signatures.Further, stepping up his attack, Chadha accused the party leadership of running a “scripted campaign” against him as part of a “coordinated attack.”Taking a cue from the Ranveer Singh starrer ‘Dhurandhar’ movie, Chadha in the video said, “ghayal hoon isiliye ghatak hoon (I am fatal as I am wounded)”. In a detailed video response, Chadha rejected all allegations levelled against him and vowed to expose “every lie.”Responding to claims that he did not participate in opposition walkouts, he said, “I challenge anyone to show even a single instance where the opposition walked out and I did not join them. Parliament has CCTV cameras everywhere, bring out the footage and the truth will be clear.”On the allegation that he refused to sign the impeachment motion against Chief Election Commissioner Gyanesh Kumar, Chadha said no party leader had asked him to do so.“In fact, several Rajya Sabha MPs from the party themselves did not sign the motion. So why is the blame being placed solely on me? Moreover, such a motion requires 50 signatures in the Rajya Sabha, and that number could easily have been met. So why the noise?” he asked.He also strongly pushed back against the charge of raising “trivial issues” in Parliament.“I did not go to Parliament to shout, create chaos, or break microphones. I went there to raise public issues. I have spoken on GST, income tax, Punjab’s water, Delhi’s air pollution, the condition of government schools, strengthening public healthcare, and problems faced by passengers in Indian Railways. I have even raised issues like menstrual health, which people often hesitate to discuss, along with unemployment and inflation. You can check my four-year parliamentary record — I went there to create impact, not disruption.”

The controversy further intensified with Enforcement Directorate (ED) searches linked to Ashok Mittal, who replaced Chadha as deputy leader in Punjab and Haryana under the Foreign Exchange Management Act, covering premises associated with educational institutions.AAP leaders described the action as politically motivated and timed ahead of the Punjab Assembly elections. Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal accused the Centre of using central agencies to prepare ground for upcoming polls, while leaders like Sanjay Singh and Manish Sisodia alleged misuse of institutions by the BJP.The divide widened further on April 15, when senior AAP leaders publicly accused Chadha of betrayal and linked the ED action against Mittal to the internal fallout.The controversy escalated amid reports that Chadha had been granted Z-category security by the Centre, prompting allegations of political collusion from within AAP.Launching a direct attack, Saurabh Bharadwaj alleged a coordinated pattern involving central agencies, political developments and security cover. In a post on X, he said:“BJP Govt toolbox is so so predictable. Raghav Chadha was threatened by ED and he out of fear or greed decided to backstab his party who made him MP or whatever he is today. When Raghav is called out on Social Media, BJP people came out to defend Raghav. On position of Dy Leader, AAP replaced Raghav with Ashok Mittal. Now ED instead of hounding Raghav , goes after Ashok Mittal and raids his home & business. And Centre gives Z+ security to Raghav Chadha. All this appears so much linked to each other. So BJP’s Govt is so desperate that they raided MP Ashok Mittal for Raghav Chadha As per sources, Raghav Chadha is behind ED raid on AAP MP Ashok Mittal.”

Amid the escalating row, Chadha made a pointed remark in the Rajya Sabha on April 17, taking a subtle dig at the leadership changes within the party.“The leader of the party I belong to is not present in the House. The newly appointed deputy leader of the party I belong to is also not present in the House. I am the recently removed deputy leader, and I am present in the House. Thank you so much for giving me the opportunity to speak,” he said.Even outside Parliament, Chadha’s messaging remained sharp and symbolic. On April 7, he shared a cryptic Instagram post featuring the book The 48 Laws of Power by Robert Greene.“Somebody gifted me a book this week. Funny how timing works. The timing is hard to ignore. I turned to chapter 1 – ‘Never outshine the master’. Some books arrive exactly when they are meant to,” he wrote.The post was widely interpreted as a veiled reference to his fallout with the party leadership.Days later, Chadha fueled further speculation about his political future by responding to a social media post suggesting he might float his own party. His brief replied, “interesting thought”.

The political backdrop of Punjab also played a crucial role in the unfolding crisis. Chadha was once credited as a key strategist behind AAP’s landslide victory in the 2022 Punjab Assembly elections, where the party won 92 of 117 seats. However, over time, his influence in the state reportedly declined.Tensions emerged between his “Delhi-style” functioning and the state leadership under Bhagwant Mann. Some within the party believed he was acting like a “super CM,” leading to his gradual sidelining from Punjab affairs.With Punjab heading towards another election cycle, internal power dynamics became even more sensitive. For AAP, which has already lost Delhi, Punjab remains its last major political stronghold.Against this backdrop, Chadha’s removal and eventual exit take on even greater significance.Raghav Chadha’s journey within AAP began with his political career working with Arvind Kejriwal during the Delhi Lokpal movement in 2012. He rose rapidly through party ranks, became one of its youngest MPs, and played a significant role in its expansion.