Raghav Chadha: From AAP’s ‘blue-eyed boy’ to sidelines

Raghav Chadha's fall from AAP's inner circle to sidelined deputy leader highlights growing tensions within the party.

Though the rift between the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and party’s Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha has come out in the open, with both attacking each other on Friday (April 3, 2026), it has been brewing in the background, according to party leaders.  

For almost a year, there has been a growing distance between the AAP leadership and Mr. Chadha, who, until not so long ago, was considered very close to party chief Arvind Kejriwal. He was part of the handful of leaders who formed an inner circle around Mr. Kejriwal and made important decisions. 

Silenced, but not defeated: Raghav Chadha hints at blowback after removal as AAP deputy leader

Even after the party removed him as its deputy leader of the Rajya Sabha on Thursday (April 2, 2026), he continues to be part of the 12-member political affairs committee, the highest decision-making body of the AAP. 

In the run-up to the 2024 Lok Sabha poll, when Mr. Kejriwal was arrested in the Delhi excise policy case, Mr. Chadha issued a delayed response and was also missing from Delhi. It was later attributed to an eye surgery he underwent in London. But from this point onwards, there were signs of a distance between him and the AAP leadership.