Muzzled by his own: AAP strips Raghav Chadha of post, bars him from speaking

There was a time when Raghav Chadha was the face the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) put forward whenever it wanted to win an argument. Sharp, articulate and telegenic, he was the party's chosen voice on primetime television and one of its most recognisable young leaders in Parliament . On Thursday, that same party took a dramatic step, asking the Rajya Sabha Secretariat to ensure he does not get to speak at all.

The message was unmistakable. The method, ruthless.

AAP formally removed the 37-year-old leader as Deputy Leader in the Rajya Sabha and, in an extraordinary move, requested that Chadha not be allotted any speaking time from the party's quota in the Upper House. The party proposed Ashok Mittal as his replacement.

Chadha, however, made it clear he would not fade quietly. In a video posted on X , he confirmed that the directive to silence him had come from within his own party. His response carried a pointed message: " Do not take my silence for defeat. "

By Friday afternoon, the party had mobilised its leadership to counter him. Delhi AAP President Saurabh Bharadwaj accused Chadha of drifting away from the party line while chasing personal visibility , citing absence during opposition walkouts, silence on Punjab-specific matters , and alleged unavailability when Arvind Kejriwal was arrested in the excise policy case.

AAP's media in charge Anurag Dhanda also criticised Chadha's record, dismissing it as " soft PR ," mocking his widely discussed intervention about airport canteen prices while arguing that larger national battles were being ignored.

During his tenure in the Rajya Sabha , Chadha carved a distinct identity by focusing on everyday concerns that resonated with urban youth and the middle class. He raised the plight of gig workers employed by platforms like Zomato and Blinkit , highlighting poor working conditions and lack of social security . He took on telecom companies over 28-day recharge plans , called out misleading food labelling , campaigned against what he described as " toll plaza loot ," and highlighted the high cost of airport food , hidden bank charges , and the tax burden on the salaried middle class. These interventions, often amplified on social media , built him a strong public following , and, it now appears, a growing tension with a party that felt he was building himself more than the movement .

Within AAP , some leaders had long felt Chadha was projecting himself as bigger than the party. That perception deepened earlier this year when Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia were acquitted in the excise policy case , and Chadha chose to remain silent on social media , something the leadership reportedly did not overlook.

Chadha is now the second AAP Rajya Sabha MP after Swati Maliwal to publicly fall out with the party leadership. With the Punjab Assembly elections 2027 approaching, the political trajectory of one of AAP's most visible young leaders will be closely watched.