From de-facto Punjab CM to a ‘compromised’ leader: The rise and fall of Raghav Chadha

He played a key role in candidate selection, campaign messaging, and organisational structuring, earning the trust of party chief Arvind Kejriwal. His elevation to the Rajya Sabha from Punjab in 2022 further cemented his stature as AAP’s national face with deep influence in the state. He was given a posh official Punjab government bungalow in Sector 2 of Chandigarh, close to CM’s official residence. The house number 50 was also known as a power den. He went around the state with Punjab Police security, held meetings with bureaucrats, was even the final authority to effect administrative rejig and transfer IAS and IPS officers.

The Opposition frowned, calling him an “extra-constitutional body” at that time. The fact that he chaired important governance meetings of bureaucrats, often invited criticism for the AAP-led government. On July 11, 2022, he was appointed as chairman of a temporary government advisory committee. He was tasked with advising on matters of public importance, specifically finance and the implementation of pro-people initiatives.

The government appointed him as an Advisor to the Government of Punjab amid a flurry of allegations that he was running the show in the border state. “He wielded absolute power. The Personnel department was with Chadha. He was effecting transfers and handling all affairs of the government. All the bureaucrats used to visit his house. He would chair the meetings without CM Mann being absent,” recalled Iqbal Singh, a former spokesperson of AAP , who later rebelled and quit.

“They wanted to make him the Super CM by appointing him as chairman of the advisory committee. The proposal was sent for legal advice. The legal advice said that he cannot be made the chairman as it would be unconstitutional. Anmol Rattan Singh was the AG then. He had to resign,” said Iqbal Singh. Anmol Rattan Singh had resigned citing personal reasons.

The run-up to 2024 Lok Sabha elections scripted a different story for Punjab and Chadha both. Before the elections, when Kejriwal was arrested on March 21, 2024, in the alleged excise scam, Chadha left for the UK to get an eye surgery for an emergency situation. He returned in May-end, staying absent from the party’s campaign during most part of the canvassing. He held a few rallies in Punjab as the elections were scheduled on June 1.

Ever since, his visits have decreased. After AAP lost Delhi Assembly elections in February 2025, Chadha’s visits to Punjab turned infrequent as Manish Sisodia was appointed incharge of AAP affairs in March 2025. Chadha was seldom seen in governance meetings. Sisodia and Satyendar Jain literally took over the decision making. In late 2025, he was asked to vacate the official bungalow. Chadha did not waste much time. He visited Punjab during floods last year.

The clearest sign of his diminished clout came on Thursday when AAP removed him as its deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, replacing him with Ashok Mittal. The move, officially presented as an organisational change, was interpreted as sidelining. The situation escalated when Chadha publicly reacted, saying he had been “silenced, not defeated,” hinting at internal suppression. Chadha also alleged he was prevented from speaking in Parliament.

An AAP insider on Friday alleged that Chadha, once the party’s and party chief Arvind Kejriwal’s blue-eyed boy, had tried to get himself designated as the party’s Leader in the Rajya Sabha when Sanjay Singh was behind bars following his arrest in the Delhi excise policy case in October 2023. This and his actions over the past year had influenced the party’s decision, he added.

“One of the biggest factors that appears to have weighed on the party’s senior leadership is Chadha engaging in behind-the-scenes manoeuvring to get himself designated the AAP’s Leader in the Rajya Sabha when Sanjay ji was behind bars following his arrest in the excise policy case in October 2023. When this failed, he went to Punjab, where he started throwing his weight around and interfered in government matters by citing his closeness to the national leadership in Delhi,” said an AAP leader.

Union Minister Ravneet Singh Bittu criticised the AAP for removing Chadha as its Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha, describing it as a “use and throw” policy. Bittu alleged that AAP dictates a one-man show where leaders are discarded after serving their utility, predicting more such exits

Chadha’s trajectory, his rise and fall from being one of AAP’s most visible young leaders and a key architect of its Punjab victory to now facing apparent sidelining raises questions about his future. For now, Chadha remains AAP’s Rajya Sabha MP.