Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has suffered a sharp decline in his Instagram following after leaving the Aam Aadmi Party and joining the Bharatiya Janata Party, according to claims made in a report and social media posts cited alongside it. The report says Chadha lost nearly one million followers in less than 24 hours, with his Instagram count falling from 14.6 million on Friday to 13.5 million by 1 p.m. on Saturday.
Digital Fallout After Party Switch
The report describes the decline as a major setback on the digital front and says a section of the youth, described as “Gen-G”, is unhappy with Chadha’s move to the BJP. It also says Aam Aadmi Party supporters have launched a social media campaign against him.
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According to the text visible in the screenshots, Delhi politics saw a major shift on Friday when Chadha left the Aam Aadmi Party and joined the BJP. The report links the drop in his social media following to displeasure among a section of young supporters and AAP backers, who are said to have responded with a coordinated online push.
Campaigns, Unfollow Calls and Deleted Posts
The report says the hashtag #unfollowRaghavChadha is trending on social media and presents the drop in follower count as evidence of a wider backlash. It cites NCP (SP) spokesperson Anish Gawande as saying Chadha’s followers had fallen by one million in 24 hours because of a viral Gen Z “unfollow” campaign on Instagram. Gawande is also quoted as saying the internet can elevate a person overnight and reduce them just as quickly.
The screenshots also state that Chadha, after joining the BJP, deleted older social media posts that were critical of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and the BJP. AAP leader Saurabh Bhardwaj is quoted as claiming that only two posts mentioning Modi remain on Chadha’s timeline, both of them praising the Prime Minister.
Youth Image Under Strain
The report says Chadha had built a following among young people by taking up what it describes as “soft issues” such as paternity leave, problems of gig workers and 10-minute delivery. It adds that he even became a Blinkit delivery partner for a day, which helped shape an image of accessibility distinct from traditional politics.
The visible text further says that among those who unfollowed him was mountaineer Rohtash Khileri, who recently became the first person in the world to survive 24 hours on Europe’s Mount Elbrus without oxygen. Political analyst Deeksha Kandpal is quoted as urging people to look at Chadha’s first Instagram post and see how many comments were asking others to unfollow him. The report concludes by saying it remains to be seen how Chadha, described as an expert in data and strategy, responds to the digital setback and whether he is able to regain credibility among young supporters.
