As the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) grapples with its worst political crisis since its inception, one of its popular leaders and Rajya Sabha member, Raghav Chadha, is nowhere to be seen.The question many within and outside AAP are asking now is — where is Raghav Chadha? Delhi Minister Saurabh Bharadwaj on Tuesday attributed his absence during the crucial election period to a critical eye complication.
Bharadwaj said Chadha might have lost his eyesight and is in the UK for treatment.He is in the UK; there was a complication in his eyes and I was told that it was quite critical that he might have lost his eyesight as well. He has gone there to get treatment. I have my best wishes with him. He will be back soon in good health and will join the campaign,” the minister said.
Chadha has been conspicuous by his absence at a time when AAP talking heads are battling a political storm triggered by party supremo and Delhi chief minister Arvind Kejriwal’s arrest by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) in the liquor policy case on March 21.
Chadha, seen as close to Kejriwal, was last seen in India on March 2 when he visited the residence of AAP legislator Sahiram Pehalwan to congratulate him after his name was announced as a Lok Sabha candidate from South Delhi — the same seat from which Chadha had unsuccessfully contested against the BJP’s Ramesh Bidhuri in 2019.
Chadha was on a trip to the UK with his wife Parineeti Chopra, a Bollywood actor, on the day of Kejriwal’s arrest. He released a video clip on his social media account in which he expressed support for Kejriwal, hours after his arrest, and attacked the ruling BJP at the Centre.
While Chopra has returned to India and was spotted in promotion events of one of her recently released movies earlier this month, Chadha’s whereabouts seem to be a mystery even for many of his party colleagues. The delay in his return has fuelled speculation about his political future. According to his social media posts, Chadha reached London on March 8, primarily for a vitrectomy — an eye surgery that’s supposed to treat problems related to retina and the vitreous.
