The Bharatiya Janata Party’s newest entrant Raghav Chadha left the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) because of a “toxic work environment”, he said on Monday.
The Rajya Sabha member defected from the AAP alongside six other leaders last week. CP Radhakrishnan, chairman of the Upper House of the Parliament, accepted their merger into the party. The AAP has accused the departing leaders of “betrayal.” Chadha has now explained his reasons for the high profile exit in a video posted to Instagram.
“Some people want to know the reasons behind my decision. So, today's video is for them,” he began. Chadha said he joined politics after leaving a successful career as a Chartered Accountant. He said he was a founding member of AAP and dedicated nearly 15 years of his “prime youth” to the party.
“I gave 15 years of my prime youth to this party. I worked very hard for this party with my blood, sweat and tears. But today, this party is not the old party. This party has a toxic work environment. You are stopped from working,” he said in the video.
He said AAP turned into a “toxic work environment,” where members were allegedly not allowed to work properly or speak freely. “You are stopped from speaking in Parliament.”
He claimed that decision-making within the AAP shifted into the hands of “corrupt and compromised” people. “This political party is now in the hands of some corrupt and compromised people. They don't work for the country, but for their own personal gain,” he alleged.
I had three options: Raghav Chadha
Chadha said he considered three possible paths: leaving politics entirely, continuing within AAP to attempt internal reform, or joining another political platform to “do positive politics.”
“I was feeling that perhaps I am the right man, but in the wrong party,” he said, describing his eventual decision as a collective one taken by seven MPs who left together. The seven MPs include Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Harbhajan Singh, Swati Maliwal and Rajinder Gupta.
“That's why I, not alone, not one, not two ... .but a total of seven MPs decided to break our relationship with this political party. One person can be wrong, two can be wrong, but not all seven,” he said. “And those innumerable educated, erudite people who were associated with the dream of this political party, all those people who left this party, can all of them be wrong?”
Chadha drew an analogy to explain his departure, saying people should “try to understand it this way,” comparing his experience in politics to a workplace scenario.
“If your workplace becomes a toxic place, if its environment becomes toxic, then how much work will you be able to do? Will you be able to work there? If you are stopped from working there, if your hard work is suppressed, if you are silenced, then what will you do?” he said.
He added that in such circumstances, “the right decision is to leave that workplace.” He also addressed public queries about whether he would continue raising citizens’ issues after joining the BJP.
“Many of you have asked me whether I will continue to raise your issues… I want to assure you that I will continue to raise your problems with more energy and enthusiasm,” he said.
Raghav Chadha’s BJP switch under anti-defection laws
Chadha’s switch ahead of next year’s Punjab elections raised a political row over AAP’s future, after the party, once dominant in Delhi for 11 years, was routed by the BJP in 2025.
Chadha’s move has left the AAP facing a serious numbers crisis after it lost seven of its 10 Rajya Sabha members. The development has also raised the possibility of a prolonged legal battle under the anti-defection law.
The Tenth Schedule of the Constitution allows lawmakers to switch parties only if at least two-thirds of a party’s members agree. It is a safeguard meant to prevent politically motivated defections. If the threshold is met, MPs can merge with another party or function independently without disqualification.
In this case, the required number was seven MPs, and with Chadha and six others defecting together, the group met the legal condition.
