As floods ravaged parts of the state, visuals of motorboat-borne Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha inspecting affected areas in Gurdaspur and Dinanagar made the rounds, signalling his first public visit to the state since May last year, leaving even his own party colleagues surprised, even as he set off the rumour mills.
“Even we were surprised by his visit, especially given the fact that he (Chadha) has not been kept in the loop on recent decisions like responding to the Enforcement Directorate (ED) raid on party leader Saurabh Bhardwaj,” an AAP insider told The Indian Express.
The 36-year-old Chadha, once dubbed the “de facto Chief Minister of Punjab” by the Opposition due to his alleged influence in the state, was seen on Friday distributing ration and medical kits to the affected families. His last public visit to the state was on May 28, 2024, during the AAP’s one-off roadshow in Ropar ahead of the Lok Sabha elections.
Following his visit to flood-affected areas, Chadha took to social media. “Several parts of our Punjab have been severely affected by floods with families losing homes, farmlands being submerged and livelihoods disrupted. Today, I visited different parts of Gurdaspur and Dinanagar to assess the situation and extend support,” he said in a post on X.
He also pledged to allocate funds from his MP Local Area Development Scheme (MPLADS) to establish flood safety measures in vulnerable areas and relief work in affected ones.
While Chadha has largely stayed away from the political scene, his reappearance in Punjab has set off speculation within the party about his possible future role. While several party leaders believe that the Rajya Sabha MP is looking to regain lost ground in the state, a few others claim it is too late for Chadha, who was once appointed Mann’s advisor and allocated a government bungalow.
The party’s Punjab spokesperson, Neel Garg, said Chadha was a Rajya Sabha MP from the state and not much must be read into his visit. “Why is it (the visit) an issue if he is visiting his people? Every leader is doing their duty and fulfilling the responsibilities given to them. The government is also working to provide relief to the people,” he said.
Referring to Punjab as his “matrubhoomi (motherland)”, Chadha said he had visited the state not as a politician but as its servant. “Distributing relief is only the first step. Our greater responsibility is to rebuild stronger. All agencies are working round-the-clock to restore normalcy and ensure rehabilitation of affected families,” he said.
Chadha’s visit also comes at a time when the Mann government has come under attack from the Opposition Congress and Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) for its “delayed response” to the flood situation. Mann himself came under attack for attending an event with Tamil Nadu CM M K Stalin at a time when the state was affected by floods. Other AAP heavyweights, such as party chief Arvind Kejriwal and Punjab in-charge Manish Sisodia have also been conspicuous by their absence, with insiders claiming that they are preparing for a rally in Gujarat’s cotton belt on September 7.
The Rajya Sabha MP’s reappearance also comes at a time when public sentiment against the Delhi AAP’s “overreach” in the state has been heightened. Recently, Sisodia’s “saam, daam, dand, bhed” remark led to a huge outcry. “2027 ka chunaav jitvaane ke liye, saam, daam, dand, bhed, sach, jhooth, question, answer, laraai, jhagda jo karna padega karenge… taiyyar hain josh ke saath? (To win the 2027 elections, we will do whatever it takes — saam, daam, dand, bhed, truth, lies, question, answer, fights… Are you ready?),” Sisodia had told the party’s women wing at a meeting on August 13.
The remark had left the party embarrassed with AAP Punjab chief Aman Arora saying that the comment was Sisodia’s “personal opinion” and reiterated his party’s commitment to “clean and transparent politics”.
On the other hand, the Mann government was left red-faced after it had to retract its controversial land-pooling policy owing to farmer protests.