Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) leader Raghav Chadha has received an endorsement on social media, but it appears it's more for his looks than his work as a public representative. When a Twitter user urged people to vote AAP to power in Punjab to get free electricity, another person said she wants “Raghav, not electricity”. This drew the attention of Mr Chadha, who seemed to be enjoying the interest shown in him. However, Mr Chadha said he is not on the party's manifesto. The Delhi legislator then went on to promise the person that if she votes for AAP in the polls due early next year he will ensure 24X7 free electricity to her.
While Mr Chadha's response was available on his Twitter account, the woman's tweet was restricted and could not be seen on the page.
The 32-year-old MLA from Rajinder Nagar constituency in Delhi later shared a screenshot of the Twitter exchange on his Instagram account. In the caption he wrote, “Kejriwal di guarantee”, referring to Delhi Chief Minister and AAP's National Convener Arvind Kejriwal.
The AAP has promised 300 units of free electricity for each family and a waiver on previous power bills to residents of Punjab if the party is voted to power. This was not the first time AAP has made such promises. After its 2015 victory in Delhi, AAP had outlined a host of freebies including 25 lakh jobs, Rs 5 meals, free WiFi, entrepreneurship schemes, old-age pensions and drug-free state but these promises had failed to draw enough votes. The party ended up with only 20 seats out of a total of 117.
Recently, Mr Chadha released a “report card” on completion of his one year as an MLA, saying the people of his constituency had elected him with a lot of faith and love. He also mentioned that the past year had been difficult because of the pandemic but he has made every possible attempt to serve people.
The MLA, who is also the vice-chairman of the Delhi Jal Board, had conducted a surprise inspection of underground reservoirs in parts of Delhi earlier this month.
The tweet contained photographs of Mr Chadha inspecting the reservoirs when it was still dark.
