In Delhi, it's BJP vs people and I just represent the people: Raghav Chadha

After spending over six years with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), 30-year-old Raghav Chadha is set to become the youngest candidate from among the three main parties in Delhi, which goes to the polls on May 12. Chadha talks to Thirumoy Banerjee about the party’s achievements, the fight against the BJP and why an alliance with the Congress did not materialise. Edited excerpts:
 
You have been with the AAP since its inception. How much do you think the party has grown over the past few years?

The AAP has become a much more organised party since the India Against Corruption days. A political party is always more organised and has more political commitment. Now, people know about our ideology. We are a robust organisation not just in the state, but also in different parts of the country. Being a party in power in the capital, we changed the lives of 1.6 million government school children, gave the education sector a complete makeover, revamped the power scenario and seriously improved the health sector.

 

You have been an AAP spokesperson for many years. How are you looking at your new role?

I never imagined that I would join a political party, let alone electoral politics. I am from a middle class family, and started working after becoming a chartered accountant. It was only during the Anna Hazare movement (in 2012), that I was attracted to this mission. I left my job and joined the movement, which later turned into the AAP. I have been a part of this revolution ever since.
 
Recently, Congress President Rahul Gandhi said AAP Chief Arvind Kejriwal made a U-turn on an alliance in Delhi. Leaders on both sides, have spoken about an alliance and have blamed the other side for not sealing a seal. Where did it get stuck?

The AAP is of the opinion that it’s important to defeat the dictatorial duo of Narendra Modi and Amit Shah to restore democracy in the country. Under their leadership, every autonomous institution in the country has been destroyed. To defeat them, we were willing to ensure that the anti-Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) votes do not get split. But the Congress does not understand this. They are in a way looking to benefit and strengthen the BJP. They couldn’t forge an alliance in UP, Bengal, Odisha or even in Kerala. They’re cutting anti-BJP votes everywhere. It seems they are all out to beat the regional parties and not the BJP.

 
Did the seat sharing deal not work?

The Congress needs to understand where it stands right now. Instead of cutting anti-BJP votes everywhere, they should have listened to regional forces and forged an alliance. It’s not just with us, it is the same story in every part of the country. Had there been no dialogue between parties, one could still have assumed that they were naive, but there was a lot of talk in the media and behind closed doors. The Congress does not seem to understand basic poll arithmetic. All this just leads to one conclusion: The Congress is playing into the hands of the BJP.

 
But the Congress has forged alliances in some states. Did Kejriwal bargain for more than four seats, which the Congress was willing to offer to the AAP?

All this is insignificant. From the discussions with the Congress, one thing was clear, it wasn’t serious about an alliance. We were open to it. Also, if you are fighting the Lok Sabha elections, you must go with the regional forces everywhere, if you are serious about toppling a government like the one we have now. As I said, the Congress did not understand this simple thing.
 
But an alliance may have meant that someone like you lost out on a ticket.

I never knew that I was going to get a ticket in the first place. I just follow my leader. If Kejriwal says jump, I would never ask him how high. So, if he asked me to opt out in the eventuality of an alliance, I would have bowed down to his wisdom.
 
But all this conversation is hypothetical now, because the Congress is not serious about beating the BJP. And as far as Delhi is concerned, they are insignificant, irrelevant and in my constituency, even absent.
 
You made headlines after the Ministry of Homes Affairs (MHA) sacked you as the adviser to Manish Sisodia last year. Take us through that episode.

My appointment as an adviser to Manishji for 75 days was revoked with retrospect. So, according to the notification, I was never a part of the government. The MHA thinks that the Delhi government should be subordinate to the Union government, and the former is bound to take permission from it for every small thing. Just because in this case, no consent was sought from the Modi government, it sacked professionals who were working for the people of Delhi.
 
Did you have (Lieutenant Governor) Anil Baijal’s go-ahead?

Whenever a government appoints advisers, you need to intimate the governor, you don’t need his permission. We intimated him. In this case, the Modi government was unhappy that educated, talented and committed people were joining the government and were working on the Budget for the Delhi government and bringing new ideas to the table. So, even though someone like me agreed to work pro bono, at a salary of ~1 per month, it decided to sack all of us. It was a way for the BJP to get back at the AAP, which handed Modi his first electoral drubbing in the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections.

 
But the AAP and you became more popular after the episode. Do you think it, in a way, helped you politically?

I won’t say that. But it definitely exposed the mindset and the dirty tricks of the BJP.
 
Did you have an idea that you could be getting a ticket from south Delhi?  

Not at all. I toured parts of the capital to reach out to the people. The AAP is not a party that appears only during elections. That I got a ticket was a decision taken by the party leadership much later.
 
How confident are you against the BJP’s sitting MP Ramesh Biduri and the Congress’ Vijender Singh?

I was made the AAP in-charge of South Delhi about a year ago and I had been visiting the length and breadth of the constituency since then, trying to find out the problems people have been facing there. Even if you light a torch, you won’t find a Congress leader in my constituency. In South Delhi, it will be a fight between the BJP and the people, and I just happen to represent the people.

Water remains one of the biggest problems of your constituency.

Both the BJP and the Congress have been unable to address the problems of the people of the constituency for the past 70 years. The Kejriwal government has worked continuously for the past four years to give people basic amenities, including piped water, health care, and electricity. We have done most of our work and whatever bit is left will be done in the next one year, before our first term ends. Regularisation of unauthorised colonies is another commitment for us.

 
The traders have pledged their support to Modi, and auto drivers seem to have moved away from you. How do you plan to bring them back to your fold?

We will reach out to them. We have a dedicated section on them in our manifesto.
 
What stands out about the AAP manifesto?

Our demand for full statehood for Delhi. Look at London, Paris, Washington, Canberra… The capital of a country like India deserves to have an independent government that has control over police, law enforcement agencies, land, etc. Barring the North Delhi Municipal Council area, the rest should be given to the Delhi government. Also, our focus is on education for all, ease in college admission and pakka makaan for everyone. We want last-mile connectivity to every corner of the capital. We want Metro to reach every part of the capital, and will work on each of these.

 
Any possibility of a tie-up with the mahagathbandhan after the elections?

Too early to talk about it right now. The party will take a decision on that after the elections.