You may have heard about or seen the phrase “Picture abhi baaki hai” being used as a punch line all over the internet. But the latest time this quote was used is not coming from a movie trailer; it actually appeared in a political video message by Raghav Chadha.
As you will read here, this is not just a statement but, in fact, an entire political theatre.
Raghav Chadha Drops Trailer, Says “Picture Abhi Baaki Hai Mere Dost”
The whole story starts because of some serious allegations that were made against Raghav Chadha by several Punjab AAP leaders, such as finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema, state president Aman Arora and spokesperson Kuldeep Singh Dhaliwal, when they publicly claimed that he did not raise the issues of Punjab in Parliament.
They did not keep their thoughts just to themselves; they made them public and provided a lot of detail about what their opinions were: specifically, they said that Punjab was owed money by the Centre, including Rs. 8500 crores for rural development, Rs. 60000 crores as losses in GST and Rs. 1600 crores because of floods; hence they were betraying Punjab’s mandate by remaining quiet.
This was not an argument between friends; this was an attack on him in order to push out a narrative against him.
Now it’s time to hear how Raghav Chadha responded to the allegations made about him.
The “Trailer” Strategy
Instead of doing a press conference or providing a written statement, he issued a series of video messages to his party members.
In video number three, he called his party members “forced” to produce video messages to deny the claims made about him. Then came the moment that became a meme on the internet: “Here’s a small trailer. Picture abhi baaki hai,” which means “the story is still unfolding.”
What was in the Raghav Chadha Punjabi Video Trailer?
The video is, in fact, made up of a compilation of portions from his Rajya Sabha speeches. This is not random; these are pieces of his speeches about Punjab and provide a counter-record of evidence to support those things.
Bro literally pulled all the evidence and served!
The larger context of the situation
Raghav Chadha’s case is not just about the video clip; it also sits within a larger political context. Specifically, Chadha has been recently terminated as Deputy Leader of AAP in Rajya Sabha. There are reports that his relationship with party leadership (including Arvind Kejriwal, to whom he has referred as an “autocrat”) has been strained for the last several months. Since his termination, he has gone on record as saying that there is a “scripted campaign” and a “coordinated attack” against him and he’s asserting that party leaders are using the same language to describe him.
Hmph, fishy and how!
In opposition to Raghav Chadha’s POV, other AAP leaders are claiming that he is trying to rebrand himself and that he has deleted old social media posts that were critical of the ruling party.
Therefore, it is evident that we are very much witnessing a fight in which two sides are contesting each other’s claim. This battle is a battle for political repositioning.
Changes in tone: from policy to performance
This moment is notable given how Raghav Chadha has decided to use his messaging strategy. Rather than a standard political rebuttal, he is telling his story through a video.
Raghav Chadha’s comment that “Punjab is not a talking point to me; it is my home, my obligation, my soil, and my spirit,” sounds like a statement loaded with emotional messaging and history.
Now what?
The “trailer” statement that Chadha made to the audience is not simply rhetoric, but it’s making a point that his return into the political arena is more than guaranteed.
Ye toh bas aura farming ho rahi hai.
Raghav Chadha’s next steps, whether they be in the form of additional videos; other disclosures; or political advancement or interference, are yet to be determined. However, one thing is sure that there are issues that go beyond a simple political disagreement. It is a war of narrative that is occurring in real-time, and the vehicle through which this battle is being fought is social media, however unserious it may seem.
If this is, in fact, just the trailer, then yes, the picture is still “baaki.”
Why Was Raghav Chadha Removed? Inside AAP’s Concerns Over Alignment And Party Discipline
In order to understand his change for better or worse, we need to first take a look at the time leading up to the change.
Raghav Chadha, who was once seen as the one of Arvind Kejriwal’s closest & most articulate faces in his leadership group, had begun to become known for another reason.
These two were literally two peas in a pod, and shared one huge and marvellous brain cell.
Throughout the course of his parliamentary interventions, he had become known for, among others:
• Advocating for paid paternity leave,
• Advocating for the rights of gig workers,
• The rising cost of food at airports,
• Urban civic issues, and
• Public health/menstrual hygiene issues
These issues do not make for headlines mostly because they’re not politically confrontational in nature; rather, they’re all policy-based, and all done in the interest of citizens.
At the same time, there are several reports that he has not said much at all during politically sensitive time periods (for example, the Kejriwal/Kejriwal and Sisodia time periods) regarding other higher level leaders.
The difference between what Raghav Chadha was willing to address and which ones he was not will be the biggest, as far as how he became seen within the party.
Discipline, Distance, and Discomfort: Inside the Party
There are several different reports that indicate that while the move to distance him was not entirely frictionless, there are several senior party leaders who have said it was part of keeping him aligned & disciplined as a result of what they described as him proposing to talk about “soft” issues instead of having politically confrontational as most other leaders do.
They have indicated that there is discomfort among the party regarding his perception/position, visibility, and consistency during critical political/reforms.
In summary, these emerging signals do not indicate a single or singular independent cause; but they are a collection of issues that have built over many months or years where Raghav Chadha and others views have diverged now from one another.
Ashok Mittal’s appointment as Leader of the Opposition is more than an administrative change; he embodies a new sign of institutional strengthening.
Mittal’s leadership will stand in stark contrast to Chadha’s highly visible and personality driven political style.
What Mittal’s appointment indicates:
- The emergence of a more way manner of communicating with parliament
- An expectation that leadership will be aligned closely with the organization’s priorities
- A reallocation of who is seen as representing the party in high visibility, public representation of the party.
In Parliamentary politics, roles are usually not ceremonial. Roles define who speaks for the party, what is said and when.
Reactions to Ashok Mittal’s appointment are not just reflections of the structural changes in party politics, but they illustrate the emotional and interpretive reactions.