From Poster Boy To Peripheral: What Happened To Raghav Chadha In AAP?

New Delhi: For years, Raghav Chadha was among the most recognisable faces of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP): sharp on TV debates, articulate in policy and widely seen as part of the party’s next-generation leadership. Now, however, the party has removed him as its deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha. On Thursday, the party requested the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to not allot him speaking time in the House. The latest move has triggered a question that’s hard to ignore: what changed?

The Meteoric Rise

Chadha’s journey in AAP began almost at the party’s inception. Encouraged by Arvind Kejriwal, he worked on drafting the Delhi Lokpal Bill in 2012, his first brush with politics.

From there, his ascent was swift. He emerged as AAP’s “TV face”, becoming one of its youngest national spokespersons at a time when the party was aggressively shaping its public narrative.

By 2015, after AAP’s sweeping victory in Delhi, Chadha, just 26 then, was appointed the party’s national treasurer. It was a signal of trust from the leadership and cemented his place within the party’s inner circle.

The Peak Years

Chadha’s political capital only grew in the years that followed.

In 2020, he contested and won the Rajinder Nagar Assembly seat with a decisive margin, reinforcing his electoral credibility. His appointment as vice-chairman of the Delhi Jal Board added administrative heft to his profile, where he was tasked with ambitious goals like improving water supply and cleaning the Yamuna.

But it was Punjab that truly marked his arrival as a key strategist. As co-in-charge for the 2022 Assembly elections, Chadha played a crucial role in AAP’s landslide victory, winning 92 of the 117 seats and forming the government in a state long dominated by traditional players.

Soon after, he was nominated to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab, becoming one of India’s youngest MPs at 33. It was, by all accounts, the high point of his political trajectory.

The Shift

On Thursday, the AAP replaced Chadha as its Rajya Sabha deputy leader with Ashok Mittal. Several leaders are calling the move indicative of deeper fissures within the party. Chadha is the second prominent AAP leader after Swati Maliwal to have differences with the leadership.

Though party leaders maintain the move is part of routine organisational reshuffle, leaders from other parties link it to an alleged rift between Chadha and party chief Arvind Kejriwal.

Mittal has sought to play down the speculation of discord. “Raghav Chadha is our senior leader and will continue to remain so. I have taken over from him just as he took over from ND Gupta earlier. AAP is a democratic party and believes in giving opportunities to different leaders to raise important issues,” he said.

Chadha’s Take

Though Chadha did not issue any formal statement, he posted a video montage on social media, highlighting key issues he had raised in Parliament.

On Friday, he published a video message on his social sites, asking if it was a “crime” to raise public interest issues in Parliament. “Have I done something wrong?” Chadha asked in the clip.

“Whenever I got the chance to speak in Parliament, I raised public's issues… but is it a crime or a mistake to do so? I am asking this because AAP has told the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to put a stop to Raghav Chadha's Parliament address,” he added.

What Next

Chadha remains one of the youngest leaders in the Rajya Sabha and still carries significant political experience. Whether this phase is a temporary dip or a longer recalibration will depend on how AAP deploys its next line of leadership and how Chadha repositions himself within that framework.

For now, the man who once defined AAP’s voice finds himself in a quieter phase. In politics, though, silence is rarely the end of the story. It’s often just an interlude.

ALSO READ: ‘Fearful And Terrified’: AAP Hits Back At Raghav Chadha After ‘Silenced, Not Defeated’ Remark