In a major political development Raghav Chadha has formally resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) along with six other Rajya Sabha MPs and since the announcement on Friday the attention has not only been on the political shift but also on the public reaction online as social media trackers and users have reported a sharp fall in Chadha’s Instagram followers.
According to online estimates circulating since Friday night his follower count dropped from around 14.6 million to nearly 13.3 million, a decline of close to 10 lakh followers within 24 hours. Observers say this drop may reflect a strong emotional response from his digital supporter base especially young users who had earlier supported him as a reform-focused leader and many reactions online suggest disappointment and disagreement with his decision to switch parties.
Out of 10 AAP MPs in the Rajya Sabha 7 have now moved together to the BJP and this has reduced AAP’s strength in the Upper House to just three members. Chadha’s exit comes shortly after he was removed as AAP’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha earlier this month.
The MPs who joined the BJP along with him include Ashok Mittal, Sandeep Pathak, Harbhajan Singh, Swati Maliwal, Rajinder Gupta and Vikram Sahney.
While announcing his move Chadha said “I was in the wrong party” a remark that has added to the ongoing political debate and with this the sudden drop in followers highlights how political decisions are now closely watched and reacted to on social media.
