From AAP’s polished young face to Punjab fadeout: Raghav Chadha’s diminishing clout

CHANDIGARH: The Aam Aadmi Party's move to replace Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha as its deputy leader in the Upper House marks more than an organisational reshuffle: it underscores the steady erosion of his political influence, particularly in Punjab, where he was once seen as one of the party's most powerful behind-the-scenes figures.

Chadha, who joined AAP at its inception in Nov 2012, quickly emerged as one of its most recognisable young faces. At just 24, he was pushed to represent the fledgling party on national television in 2013. Articulate and composed in television debates, he soon became one of AAP's key media faces and, by 2014, one of the youngest national spokespersons among major Indian political parties.




His rise within the party coincided with AAP's expansion in Punjab, where he was seen as a central strategist in the run-up to the party's 2022 assembly victory. But his role in the state soon became politically contentious.

After being replaced by Sandeep Pathak as Punjab co-incharge on March 21, 2022, Chadha was accommodated as chairman of a temporary advisory committee set up by the Punjab govt in July 2022 to advise the chief minister on matters of public importance. Opposition parties repeatedly cited the arrangement to allege that Punjab was being "remote-controlled" from Delhi, portraying Chadha as the de facto adviser to the AAP govt.

That phase of alleged over-involvement gradually gave way to a very different perception — absence.

Over the last two years, Chadha's prolonged spells away from Punjab became a recurring talking point for the opposition. During the Punjab floods, his brief appearance after a long gap drew criticism. Questions were also raised over his absence during crucial political periods, including stretches when he was in the UK for eye treatment around the 2024 Lok Sabha campaign.

Now, the party's latest move suggests a formal downsizing of his role. In a letter to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat dated April 2, 2026, the AAP recommended Jalandhar-based MP Ashok Mittal for the deputy leader's post. Significantly, the party also said Chadha should no longer be allotted speaking time from AAP's official quota in the House — a telling indication of his reduced standing within the leadership.



Within Punjab AAP, the shift is being read less as a sudden fall and more as the culmination of a long political cooling-off. For a leader once accused of exercising outsized influence in the state, Chadha today appears to have lost not just his operational grip over Punjab, but also much of the institutional weight that once made him one of AAP's most visible young power centres.