How BJP's cloud seeding failure giving way to AAP's reinvention in Delhi

In the past 15 days, the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) Delhi unit has gone on the offensive. From cornering the Rekha Gupta-led BJP government on air pollution to questioning the preparations for a “clean Yamuna Chhath Ghat” at Vasudev Ghat, the party appears to have cracked the code for derailing the ruling dispensation’s high-profile public events. At the centre of this renewed strategy stands Saurabh Bharadwaj.

The former Delhi minister, now AAP’s Delhi chief, has crafted new ways to take on the BJP-led Delhi government. When reports emerged that Prime Minister Narendra Modi might take a holy dip during the Chhath festivities at Vasudev Ghat, Bharadwaj conducted a “walk-through” video, a TV-style ground report, claiming that an artificial pond had been created at the site using “clean Ganga water brought from Sonia Vihar WTP.”

During the morning Argha of Chhath, the much-anticipated visit of PM Modi did not take place. Although no official communication had ever confirmed such a visit, AAP projected this outcome as a political victory.

BHARADWAJ’S VIDEO GAINS TRACTION

Bharadwaj’s video from Vasudev Ghat was widely shared and endorsed by several INDIA bloc leaders, including members of the Trinamool Congress. To bolster his claim that the Yamuna remains highly polluted, Bharadwaj cited a Delhi Pollution Control Committee (DPCC) lab test report dated October 23, which showed dangerously high levels of faecal coliform (human waste) in the river water. He also reminded critics how BJP leaders had previously attacked the Kejriwal government over Yamuna pollution and the use of chemical defoamers.

AAP’S “REINVENTED TOOLKIT”

AAP Delhi’s reinvented communication strategy now relies on a mix of official documents, government orders, “ground report” videos, and social-media-friendly mockery of the government. “Roast-style” press conferences and spoof songs have become signature features of this aggressive new approach.

The BJP government’s failed cloud seeding attempts have provided further ammunition. Bharadwaj and his team produced multiple videos from across Delhi, including the Delhi Secretariat, debunking the “artificial rain” claims. These videos, marked by their satirical tone, quickly gained traction online.

While Delhi Minister Manjinder Singh Sirsa later explained that the cloud seeding experiment had failed due to weather conditions, AAP released another spoof song featuring Bharadwaj, AAP MLA Sanjeev Jha, and several spokespersons holding umbrellas indoors — a tongue-in-cheek jab at the government’s failed rain experiment.

STRATEGY AND COORDINATION

According to AAP sources, Bharadwaj personally holds conference calls and meetings with party spokespersons to brief them on the technical aspects of Delhi’s air and water pollution issues and how these should be presented in media debates and on social media. The spate of “walk-through” videos, covering topics from waterlogging to plummeting air quality, reportedly stems from these internal strategy sessions.

Within the party, there is now a visible competition to unearth new documents and devise creative, often sarcastic ways to attack Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and her government.

CONGRESS JOINS THE FRAY

Following AAP’s viral Vasudev Ghat videos and its successful narrative around the “artificial rains,” the Congress party also jumped in. The Delhi Youth Congress filed a “Barish Chori” (Rain Theft) complaint at the Parliament Street Police Station - an attempt both to corner the BJP government and to capture attention on social media.

CLOUD SEEDING ON HOLD

Amid mounting criticism, the Delhi government has put the cloud seeding project on hold, citing unfavourable humidity conditions. The experiment, originally intended to combat pollution and project a positive image for the BJP government, has instead become a powerful political weapon for its opponents.

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