New Delhi: Just when everyone thought Raghav Chadha was one of the sharpest and most visible faces of Aam Aadmi Party in Parliament, the party suddenly pulled the rug from under him.
In a quiet but significant move on April 2, AAP informed the Rajya Sabha Secretariat that the young, articulate MP from Punjab would no longer be its Deputy Leader in the Upper House. His place has been taken by Ashok Mittal, the chancellor of Lovely Professional University and a relatively low-profile Punjab MP.
The decision has set tongues wagging in political circles. While the party is calling it a routine organisational change, many are reading it as a clear sidelining of Chadha, who was once seen as close to the high command. Sources close to him even suggested the move was aimed at limiting his speaking time and influence inside Parliament.
Interestingly, the party letter reportedly mentioned that Chadha should not be allotted time from AAP’s quota anymore.
Party leaders, however, presented a united front. New deputy leader Ashok Mittal described it as a normal democratic process, pointing out that leadership roles keep rotating — ND Gupta was there before Chadha. Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann kept it simple: “The party has its own policies… these are party decisions that continue.” Senior MP Sanjay Singh confirmed the change and brushed aside questions from Congress, saying AAP was focused on bigger battles.
Raghav Chadha himself chose not to comment directly on the “demotion.” Instead, he shared a video compilation of his recent parliamentary work on social media, with a light-hearted tweet hinting at “evil eye” and nazar battu.
BJP leaders, meanwhile, were quick to attack, calling it AAP’s “use and throw” policy.
For a party that once projected itself as different, this sudden shift has once again sparked questions about internal loyalty and power equations. As one observer put it, in AAP’s fast-changing world, today’s star can become tomorrow’s side player — all in the name of “routine” decisions.