In a significant political development, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday is said to have removed one of its most prominent faces, Raghav Chadha — considered a key planner and strategist — from the post of Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha.
In a significant political development, the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday is said to have removed one of its most prominent faces, Raghav Chadha — considered a key planner and strategist — from the post of Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha. The party has written to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat seeking his removal and proposing its Punjab MP Ashok Mittal as his replacement, according to sources.
Once approved, Mittal will take on the key role of managing the party’s strategy and participation in Upper House debates, alongside Sanjay Singh, AAP’s leader in the Rajya Sabha. Notably, the party’s communication reportedly also stated that Chadha should no longer be allotted speaking time from AAP’s quota in the House.
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While there has been no official explanation for this surprise decision, sources indicate concerns over growing differences and also alleged indiscipline and deviation from the party line. There has also been speculation about his growing closeness to the BJP.
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Chadha has been maintaining a low profile, refraining from public statements — even after the discharge of Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia in the excise policy-linked money laundering case — which is also being cited as a reason for the perceived distance between him and the top leadership. He was also absent from the party office during Kejriwal’s subsequent press briefing.
Amid speculation about Chadha’s political future, including unconfirmed reports of a possible party switch ahead of the Punjab elections, the move interestingly follows the recent joining of former AAP leader H.S. Phoolka—known for his role as a crusader for the 1984 anti-Sikh riots victims—into the BJP. Phoolka had described his association with the Arvind Kejriwal-led party as a “mistake”.
A Chartered Accountant by profession and married to Bollywood actor Parineeti Chopra, Chadha’s spectacular rise within AAP has been spectacular.
Emerging as one of the party’s top leaders, he played a key role in its Punjab unit and also served as an advisor to Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann. However, his growing influence reportedly also caused friction among state leaders. In 2023, Chadha faced suspension from the Rajya Sabha over a privilege row related to the alleged forging of signatures—a decision later stayed by the Supreme Court.
The party’s reported directive to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat that no speaking time be allotted to Chadha effectively sidelines one of its prominent faces in the Upper House. His removal, coupled with his reduced public presence and silence on recent party developments, has fueled speculation—though unconfirmed—about his future within the party.
However, some leaders have dismissed these rumours as baseless.
The AAP, which has 10 MPs in the Rajya Sabha (seven from Punjab and three from Delhi), Chadha’s removal from this key parliamentary post suggests a shift and tension within the party’s leadership structure. Besides Chadha, another MP who has reportedly fallen out of favour with the senior leadership is Swati Maliwal. Though she continues to be a Rajya Sabha MP from AAP, she has effectively been functioning as an independent critic of the party’s leadership. Maliwal has neither resigned nor been officially expelled, arguing that the party “does not belong to two–three people”. Like Chadha, Maliwal too was perceived as a key strategist and trusted aide to Arvind Kejriwal—a part of his innermost circle.
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