AAP removes Raghav Chadha as Rajya Sabha deputy leader

Raghav Chadha News: The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday wrote to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat seeking the removal of MP Raghav Chadha as the party’s deputy leader in the Upper House, and recommended MP Ashok Mittal as his replacement.

The development comes amid a gulf between the AAP leadership and Chadha, who has been accused of skipping important party events and meetings in recent months.

While AAP sources said there had been “no particular trigger” for the decision and there were no “anti-party activities” that Chadha had been found guilty of, they confirmed that the party had been biding its time regarding the move.

Insiders added that Chadha, who had been unavailable “at crucial junctures” from its point of view—including the AAP’s show of strength following the discharge of leaders Arvind Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia from the excise policy case in late February—had “gradually grown more distant” from it and its senior leadership.

According to party insiders, it was evident that a storm was brewing when Chadha, who has been in the Rajya Sabha since 2022 and has two more years of his tenure remaining, was not put on the party’s list of star campaigners for the ongoing Assembly polls in five states and a Union Territory.

Party insiders pointed out that going forward, Chadha was likely not to be formally suspended from the party to “keep him from martyr status” and would be allowed to continue as one of its 10 MPs in the Council of States “till he chose to”.

The episode unfolded three days after Chadha expressed praise for the Udaan Yatri cafe at the Mumbai airport in NDA-ruled Maharashtra. “Visited the Udaan Yatri café at Mumbai Airport and had chai for just ₹10. Was flying to Delhi and wanted chai before the flight. Spoke to several travellers while I was there. All of them happy, all of them saying the same thing: Easy on the pocket, good service, value for money. Affordable airport food is possible. And this is proof☕ ✈️”.

Asad Rehman is with the national bureau of The Indian Express and covers politics and policy focusing on religious minorities in India. A journalist for over eight years, Rehman moved to this role after covering Uttar Pradesh for five years for The Indian Express. During his time in Uttar Pradesh, he covered politics, crime, health, and human rights among other issues. He did extensive ground reports and covered the protests against the new citizenship law during which many were killed in the state. During the Covid pandemic, he did extensive ground reporting on the migration of workers from the metropolitan cities to villages in Uttar Pradesh. He has also covered some landmark litigations, including the Babri Masjid-Ram temple case and the ongoing Gyanvapi-Kashi Vishwanath temple dispute. Prior to that, he worked on The Indian Express national desk for three years where he was a copy editor. Rehman studied at La Martiniere, Lucknow and then went on to do a bachelor's degree in History from Ramjas College, Delhi University. He also has a Masters degree from the AJK Mass Communication Research Centre, Jamia Millia Islamia. ... Read More

Jatin Anand is an Assistant Editor with the national political bureau of The Indian Express. With over 16 years of experience in mainstream journalism, he is a seasoned expert in national governance, electoral politics, and bureaucratic affairs. Having covered high-stakes beats including the Election Commission of India (ECI), intelligence, and urban development, Jatin provides authoritative analysis of the forces shaping Indian democracy. He is an alumnus of Zakir Husain Delhi College (DU) and the prestigious Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai, where he specialized in Print Journalism. Expertise High-Stakes Beat Coverage: Throughout his decade-and-a-half career, Jatin has covered some of the most sensitive and influential beats in the country, including: The Election Commission of India (ECI): Monitoring electoral policy, reforms, and the conduct of national and state polls. National Security & Intelligence: Reporting on the internal mechanisms and developments within India's security apparatus. Urban Development: Analyzing the policies and bureaucratic processes driving the transformation of India’s cities. National Political Bureau: In his current role, he tracks the intersection of policy and politics, offering deep-dive reporting on the Union government and national political movements. Academic Credentials: Zakir Husain Delhi College (DU): Alumnus of one of Delhi's premier institutions. Asian College of Journalism (ACJ), Chennai: Specialized in Print Journalism at India's most prestigious journalism school. ... Read More

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