AAP strips Raghav Chadha of parliamentary role; Bhagwant Mann calls him compromised

The Aam Aadmi Party faced an escalating public internal dispute on 3 April 2026, a day after the party formally removed Rajya Sabha Member of Parliament Raghav Chadha from his position as the party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha. Chadha, who represents Punjab in the Council of States and is one of the Aam Aadmi Party’s ten Rajya Sabha members, responded with a defiant video statement and a social media post reading ‘Silenced, not defeated’, triggering an immediate and coordinated counter-attack from senior party figures including Delhi Aam Aadmi Party President Saurabh Bharadwaj, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, and Aam Aadmi Party national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda.

The Aam Aadmi Party had formally written to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat on 2 April 2026, requesting the removal of Chadha as the party’s deputy leader in the Upper House and nominating Punjab Member of Parliament Ashok Mittal as his successor. The party also took the additional step of requesting the Rajya Sabha Chair not to allot Chadha speaking time from the party’s quota of floor time. While Chadha retains his membership in the Rajya Sabha with approximately two years remaining in his term, his removal from the deputy leadership position represents a significant downgrade in his parliamentary standing within the Aam Aadmi Party’s institutional structure.

What did Raghav Chadha say after being removed as Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha deputy leader?

In a video message released on 3 April 2026, Chadha asserted that his silence in Parliament had not been voluntary but was the result of his own party asking the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to prevent him from being allotted speaking time. He questioned whether raising issues affecting the general public in Parliament constituted wrongdoing and indicated that his continued public silence should not be interpreted as political surrender. He described himself as a river that becomes a flood when the time comes, and expressed gratitude to supporters for what he described as their unlimited love. He subsequently posted a compilation video on the social media platform X featuring clips of his parliamentary speeches on a range of topics, including traffic congestion as a public health and economic concern, paternity leave legislation, and issues concerning the gig economy.

Chadha did not announce any intention to resign from the Rajya Sabha or leave the Aam Aadmi Party. Multiple reports confirmed that he would remain in the Upper House for the remainder of his term, continuing to serve as a Rajya Sabha member representing Punjab.

How did Saurabh Bharadwaj and Aam Aadmi Party leadership respond to Chadha’s public challenge?

Delhi Aam Aadmi Party President Saurabh Bharadwaj issued a counter video statement and publicly characterized Chadha’s conduct in Parliament as a failure to fulfil his core responsibilities as a party-nominated Rajya Sabha member. Bharadwaj stated that Chadha had been sent to the Rajya Sabha by the party to raise issues concerning Punjab and its constituents, not to pursue personal visibility. He cited specific instances in which Chadha had allegedly failed to support the party’s parliamentary positions, including his absence from opposition walkouts and his reported refusal to sign a formal motion related to the Chief Election Commissioner. Bharadwaj framed the parliamentary time at the party’s disposal as a limited and finite resource that must be dedicated to major national issues rather than, in his words, discussions about the prices of samosas in airport canteens.

Bharadwaj, along with Anurag Dhanda, described themselves and fellow party leaders as Kejriwal’s soldiers, invoking Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal’s standing as the central authority within the party. Bharadwaj accused Chadha of having gone into hiding when Kejriwal was in judicial custody following his arrest in March 2024 in connection with the Delhi excise policy case, alleging that Chadha had been abroad in London during a critical period for the party. He urged Chadha to focus on genuine political issues rather than what he termed soft public relations activity.

Why did Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann call Raghav Chadha compromised at a press conference?

Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, addressing journalists at a press conference in Chandigarh on 3 April 2026, defended the Aam Aadmi Party’s decision to remove Chadha as deputy leader, characterising the action as a routine disciplinary matter consistent with parliamentary party norms. Mann stated that any member who fails to follow the party whip in Parliament must expect to face action, and that such decisions are a standard feature of political party functioning in both the Lok Sabha and the Rajya Sabha.

Mann used sharper language when addressing the substance of Chadha’s recent parliamentary activities. He questioned how the party could not suspect the loyalties of a legislator who, during a period when the Aam Aadmi Party was raising concerns about voter disenfranchisement in West Bengal, religious and caste-based tensions in Punjab, and the arrest of party workers in Gujarat, chose instead to speak about airport food prices and the delivery times for pizza. Mann stated that he believed Chadha had been compromised, the strongest characterisation of Chadha’s position to emerge from any Aam Aadmi Party leader on the day.

What allegations did former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi make against Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha?

Former Delhi Chief Minister and senior Aam Aadmi Party leader Atishi issued a public video statement on 3 April 2026 posing a series of direct questions to Chadha regarding his parliamentary conduct. Atishi asked why Chadha had remained silent on rising liquefied petroleum gas prices, alleging that the Aam Aadmi Party had been actively raising the issue with the Union government while Chadha chose not to participate. She further asked why Chadha had not spoken out when what she described as electoral manipulation occurred in Delhi, and why he had not raised concerns about what the Aam Aadmi Party characterised as threats to democratic processes in West Bengal.

Atishi referenced the period when Kejriwal was in judicial custody, alleging that Chadha had been absent from New Delhi during that time and had fled to London while other party leaders faced physical confrontations with law enforcement during protests. She described the conduct expected of Aam Aadmi Party leaders as one of fearlessness and willingness to risk personal consequences in the party’s political battles against the Union government. In her most consequential public statement, Atishi suggested that Chadha’s conduct indicated he might be preparing to join the Bharatiya Janata Party, a claim that quickly became the subject of widespread media coverage and speculation.

What is the background to Raghav Chadha’s growing distance from Aam Aadmi Party leadership in 2025 and 2026?

Internal tensions between Chadha and the Aam Aadmi Party’s central leadership had been building for several months before the formal demotion on 2 April 2026. Reports citing internal sources indicated that Chadha had gradually grown more distant from the senior leadership of the Aam Aadmi Party, with his absence noted during what the party described as crucial junctures. Among the incidents cited was his non-participation in the party’s major show of strength in late February 2026 following the discharge of senior leaders in the Delhi excise policy case.

Earlier signs of a cooling relationship between Chadha and the party’s leadership became apparent when he was not included on the Aam Aadmi Party’s star campaigner list for the Assembly elections held across multiple states and a Union Territory. The exclusion from the campaign trail, a standard platform for high-profile party figures, was widely interpreted at the time as an indication of reduced trust between Chadha and the inner circle around Aam Aadmi Party convenor Arvind Kejriwal. In August 2023, Chadha had been suspended from the Rajya Sabha for what the House described as a gross violation of rules, following allegations by five Members of Parliament that their names had been included without their consent on a motion related to the Delhi National Capital Region Amendment Bill, an episode that had already drawn significant attention to Chadha within the party.

How did the Bharatiya Janata Party respond to the public dispute within the Aam Aadmi Party?

The Bharatiya Janata Party entered the public debate surrounding the Aam Aadmi Party’s internal dispute, with party Member of Parliament Praveen Khandelwal issuing a statement criticising the Aam Aadmi Party’s leadership structure. Khandelwal alleged that the party had become excessively centred around the personality and authority of Arvind Kejriwal rather than operating according to its founding institutional principles. The Bharatiya Janata Party did not make any formal statement regarding Atishi’s suggestion that Chadha might be considering joining its ranks.

Chadha himself did not directly respond to the speculation about a possible move to the Bharatiya Janata Party. His responses through social media platforms, including the video compilation of his parliamentary speeches and his earlier statement about silence not equating to defeat, were framed as defences of his parliamentary record rather than as responses to speculation about his political future. The broader episode drew public commentary from figures outside formal political circles, including social media commentary from individuals with public profiles expressing support for Chadha’s position.

What does the Aam Aadmi Party’s removal of Chadha as Rajya Sabha deputy leader mean for the party’s parliamentary position?

The Aam Aadmi Party’s formal communication to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, nominating Ashok Mittal as the new deputy leader in the Upper House, represents a procedural restructuring of the party’s parliamentary group. Mittal, who also represents Punjab in the Rajya Sabha, is considered a lower-profile figure relative to Chadha within national political discourse. The Aam Aadmi Party holds ten seats in the Rajya Sabha, and Sanjay Singh serves as the party’s Leader of the House in the Upper Chamber.

The additional step of requesting the Rajya Sabha Chair not to allocate speaking time from the party’s parliamentary quota to Chadha goes beyond a standard leadership reshuffle. It is a mechanism through which the party has sought to limit Chadha’s formal legislative presence within the chamber while he remains a sitting member. The Aam Aadmi Party characterised both decisions as standard internal party management and disciplinary measures consistent with the party’s expectations of its parliamentary members.

The public nature of the dispute, with senior party leaders including a state Chief Minister and a former state Chief Minister making statements through press conferences and social media on the same day that Chadha issued his video response, underscored the extent to which the internal disagreement had moved beyond the realm of manageable organisational difference into open political confrontation. The episode marks one of the most publicly visible internal disputes within the Aam Aadmi Party since its founding, involving figures who were, until recently, among the most prominent members of the party’s national profile.

Key takeaways on what the Aam Aadmi Party’s Rajya Sabha dispute with Raghav Chadha means for the party’s internal unity and parliamentary standing

• The Aam Aadmi Party formally removed Raghav Chadha as its deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha on 2 April 2026, replacing him with Punjab Member of Parliament Ashok Mittal, and separately requested the Rajya Sabha Chair to withhold speaking time from the party’s parliamentary quota for Chadha.
• Chadha responded with a public video statement and the message ‘Silenced, not defeated’, asserting that his restricted parliamentary presence was the result of party instructions rather than voluntary restraint, and that he had consistently raised public interest issues during his time in the House.
• Senior Aam Aadmi Party figures including Delhi unit President Saurabh Bharadwaj, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann, former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi, and national media in-charge Anurag Dhanda publicly accused Chadha of failing to follow the party whip, avoiding criticism of the Union government and Prime Minister Narendra Modi, and being absent during key moments of internal party solidarity.
• Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann described Chadha as compromised, and former Delhi Chief Minister Atishi publicly suggested he might be considering a move to the Bharatiya Janata Party, allegations that Chadha did not directly address in his public responses.
• The dispute, involving the public intervention of a sitting state Chief Minister and multiple senior party figures against a sitting Rajya Sabha member on the same day as his public response, represents one of the most openly visible instances of internal conflict in the Aam Aadmi Party’s institutional history.