A big and shocking turn came in the politics of the capital when Raghav Chadha left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). This decision not only created a stir in the political circles, but also saw a tremendous reaction on social media. The sudden decline in his popularity, especially among the youth, has brought this entire incident even more into discussion. Raghav Chadha’s change of party is not only being considered a personal political decision, but it also seems to be affecting the situation of Aam Aadmi Party.
It is being told that along with him, six Rajya Sabha MPs of AAP have also joined BJP. Due to this, the challenge for the Arvind Kejriwal led party to keep its leaders and MPs united has increased. However, this decision was not sudden. A few weeks ago, he was removed from the post of Deputy Leader in Rajya Sabha, after which speculations were being made that he may soon take some big step. But the kind of reaction that came after joining BJP surprised everyone.
Decrease in followers on social media increases concern
In today’s time, social media has become an important way to measure the popularity of any leader. In such a situation, the sudden decline in Raghav Chaddha’s Instagram followers has raised many questions. According to statistics, after joining BJP, his followers reduced by about 10 lakh within 24 hours.
As of Friday, his number of followers was around 14.6 million, which dropped to 13.5 million by Saturday afternoon. Such a sharp decline indicates that a large section of people are uncomfortable with this decision. Experts believe that the youth have a big role to play in this decline, who are expressing their displeasure through social media.
Gen Z protests and the ‘unfollow’ trend
The youth, especially Gen Z, seem to be the most active in this entire incident. The hashtag named “unfollowRaghavChadha” is trending rapidly on social media, through which people are appealing to unfollow him.
NCP (SP) spokesperson Anish Gawande also responded by saying that the power of the internet is huge – it can make someone famous overnight and can bring them down just as quickly. Political analyst Deeksha Kandpal also said that a large number of such comments are coming on Chadha’s posts, in which it is being said to unfollow him. It is clear from this that an atmosphere is being created against him on social media.
Why was Chadha popular among the youth?
Raghav Chadha was recognized as a leader who openly raised the issues of common people and especially the youth. He talked about many such topics which generally do not get much attention in politics. These included paternity leave, traffic jams, mobile data limits, expensive food at airports and problems of gig workers.
He not only raised these issues, but also entered the field himself to understand them. Once he worked as a delivery partner, so that he could realize the real problems of gig workers. Such steps gave him a distinct identity among the youth.
Policy changes and their image
The effect of his efforts was also visible. After questions were raised about the pressure of delivery companies to deliver within 10 minutes, the central government decided to remove this time limit. This strengthened Chadha’s image as a leader who works on grassroots issues. Even in the Rajya Sabha, he raised issues related to youth prominently, which reduced the distance between traditional politics and the new generation. This was the reason why he was seen as a leader with a different thinking.
Personal life and role of social media
Raghav Chadha, who is the husband of actress Parineeti Chopra, is very active on social media. He often interacted with his followers and valued their opinions. Once he even shared a user’s post, which suggested that they could form their own “Gen Z Party”. On this he called it interesting, due to which such discussions increased further. However, instead of forming his own party, he chose to join the BJP, which was unexpected for many.
Old post and reason for new controversy
After joining BJP, another controversy came to light. Many social media users claim that Chadha has removed old posts from his account, in which Prime Minister Narendra Modi and BJP were criticized. Senior AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj said that now only two posts related to “Modi” are left on his profile and both are in praise of the Prime Minister. This change has also raised questions among the people.
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