The Arvind Kejriwal-led Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) has replaced Raghav Chadha as its party’s deputy leader in Rajya Sabha and has appointed its Punjab MP Ashok Mittal for the position. The party said that it has informed the Rajya Sabha Secretariat of the decision.
Furthermore, according to the reports, Chadha, who is also a Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, will not be allotted time for speaking in the House from the AAP’s quota. The AAP Party currently consists of 10 members in the Rajya Sabha, seven from Punjab and three from Delhi. This makes the party the fourth largest in the Upper House after the BJP, Congress, and the Trinamool Congress.
The move comes ahead of Chadha’s silence on the AAP’s matter. Notably, Chadha
Raghav Chadha remained absent during Arvind Kejriwal’s nearly six-month incarceration, meeting him only a few days after his release on September 13, 2024.
More recently, Chadha maintained silence after Kejriwal, former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia, and other Aam Aadmi Party leaders were discharged by a Delhi court in the excise case last month. He also skipped Kejriwal’s press conference and a rally at Jantar Mantar following the court’s relief.
Party sources indicated that Chadha has increasingly been kept away from key political campaigns and organizational affairs in other states. However, he has remained active in public discourse, both inside and outside Parliament, raising issues such as rising airfares and the working conditions of gig workers.
Ashok Mittal, who has been placed in the designation of Raghav Chadha, is also the chancellor of Lovely Professional University. Meanwhile, the party’s MP Sanjay Singh continues to serve as the party’s leader in the House.
Ashok Mittal, while speaking to reporters, said the party’s national convener, Arvind Kejriwal, had reposed confidence in him by appointing him as the Aam Aadmi Party’s deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha. He said he would discharge his responsibilities with diligence and present both the party’s position and national interest effectively in the House.
Terming the development routine, Mittal said the post had earlier been held by N.D. Gupta before being assigned to Raghav Chadha.
“Now, I have been given this role. Our party wants all MPs to learn, and probably in that context, I have been given this role so that I can learn the processes and administrative skills in politics,” he said.
Mittal was elected to the upper house in April 2022 and has been a part of parliamentary committees since then, which includes the defense and finance committee, which happened in February 2026. Additionally, he was a part of an all-party delegation.
