Raghav Chadha

2019 Lok Sabha election

In 2019, Chadha contested from the South Delhi Lok Sabha constituency for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He conceded victory to the BJP candidate Ramesh Bidhuri.^[11][12] Since the 1980s, South Delhi has been a BJP stronghold and represented by individuals like Madan Lal Khurana, Vijay Kumar Malhotra, Sushma Swaraj and Ramesh Bidhuri as well as Balraj Madhok of the Bharatiya Jana Sangh, the ideological and political predecessor of BJP.^[13]

In 2020, as a leader of AAP, Chadha was appointed AAP Punjab co-in-charge for the then upcoming Punjab Legislative Assembly election in 2022, playing a crucial role in the party's eventual landslide victory. AAP won 92 out of 117 seats.^[14][15]

MLA in the Delhi Legislative Assembly

In February 2020, Chadha contested from Rajinder Nagar in the 2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election and won against BJP candidate RP Singh with a margin of 20,058 votes. He polled 57.06% of the total votes.^[16]

MP in the Rajya Sabha

On 21 March 2022, AAP announced the nomination of Chadha and four other individuals as the Rajya Sabha members from Punjab for a six-year term starting in 2022.^[17] No opposition candidate opposed their election.^[18] This made him the youngest Indian Rajya Sabha MP ever at the age of 33. He was also appointed as a member of the Parliament's Standing Committee on Finance in Rajya Sabha. The committee oversees the laws and policies drafted by three union ministries and the NITI Aayog.^[19]

In April 2022, Chadha claimed that Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) settled Bangladeshi people and Rohingyas in Delhi and uses them to trigger riots.^[20]

Credited with the party's success in Punjab, Chadha was appointed co-in-charge for the 2022 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election on 18 September 2022.^[21] Following his appointment to the Rajya Sabha, he was designated the leader of the Aam Aadmi Party in the upper house.^[22]

In the wake of Sanjay Singh, who served as the floor leader of the AAP in the Rajya Sabha, becoming incapacitated owing to his inability discharge his responsibilities while in judicial custody under politically-coloured charges, the party leader and Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal requested the chairman of Rajya Sabha to appoint Chadha as AAP's interim leader of the House in early December 2023. However, the request was turned down, as the request reportedly was not in conformity with the applicable legal regime governed by The Leaders and Chief Whips of Recognised Parties and Groups in Parliament (Facilities) Act, 1998 and the Rules made thereunder.^[23]

Advisor to the Chief Minister of Punjab

After AAP's victory in Punjab, Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann appointed Chadha as the chairman of an advisory panel. A plea challenging his appointment was struck down by the Punjab and Haryana High Court.^[24]

In May 2023, media reports emerged that Chadha's name was mentioned in Enforcement Directorate's (ED) second supplementary chargesheet in the money laundering case pertaining to the 2022 Delhi liquor policy case. Chadha immediately held a press conference in New Delhi to strongly refute the claims, calling the media reports “factually wrong” and part of a “propaganda” to harm his reputation and credibility.^{[25][26][27][28][29]}

In April 2024, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh, an Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA) from Amritsar North and former Indian Police Service (IPS) officer, made serious allegations against his party's senior leader, Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha. During a rally in Amritsar, Singh accused Chadha of having close associations with at least two Punjab Police officers allegedly involved in supporting the drug trade in the city, describing them as Chadha's blue-eyed boys.^[30] In response to the controversy, the AAP suspended Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh from the party for five years, citing anti-party activities.^[31]

Removal as Deputy Leader and defection to the Bharatiya Janata Party

On 2 April 2026, AAP removed Chadha from the post of its deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, replacing him with Punjab MP Ashok Kumar Mittal. This was said to be the result of Chadha's prolonged absence from key party events and silence on sensitive issues.^[32][33][34]

Amid speculations, Chadha defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party on 24 April 2026, along with 6 other AAP MPs of the Rajya Sabha (including Mittal), despite having previously referred to the BJP as a party of illiterate goons and lumpen elements.^[35][36][37] The AAP criticised the defection, accusing the BJP of engaging in Operation Lotus.^[38]