Raghav Chadha

Raghav Chadha (born 11 November 1988) is an Indian politician and member of the Aam Aadmi Party. He is the youngest Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha from Punjab, India. He was the former Vice Chairman of the Delhi Jal Board and MLA from the Rajendra Nagar assembly constituency in Delhi till 2022. Chadha has been elected as Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha. He is also a practising chartered accountant.

Raghav Chadha
Raghav Chadha
Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha
Incumbent
Assumed office 2 May 2022
Preceded by	Naresh Gujral
Constituency	Punjab, India
Member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly
In office 12 February 2020 – 24 March 2022
Preceded by	Vijender Garg Vijay
Succeeded by	Durgesh Pathak
Constituency	Rajinder Nagar
Vice Chairman of the Delhi Jal Board
In office 2 March 2020 – 22 March 2022
Preceded by	Dinesh Mohaniya
Succeeded by	Saurabh Bharadwaj
Personal details
Born	(1988-11-11) 11 November 1988 Delhi, India
Nationality	Indian
Political party	Aam Aadmi Party
Spouse(s)	Parineeti Chopra ( m. 2023)
Alma mater	University of Delhi Institute of Chartered Accountants of India
Profession	Chartered Accountant
Known for	Spokesperson of AAP
Website	www.raghavchadha.in

Early life

Born on 11 November 1988 and raised in New Delhi, Chadha received his school education from the capital city's Modern School, Barakhamba Road and graduated from University of Delhi (DU). He then pursued Chartered Accountancy from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, post which he went to the London School of Economics for a certification course of MBA. In his early career he worked with accountancy firms including Deloitte, Shyam Malpani, and Grant Thornton.

Politics

In 2011, Chadha joined the uprising against corruption in India, also known as the India Against Corruption movement led by social activist Anna Hazare. He met Arvind Kejriwal during the movement. Chadha has been a part of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) since its inception. Mr. Kejriwal encouraged him in drafting the Delhi Lokpal Bill in 2012, which was also his first political task. He established himself as the AAP's TV face and also became the youngest national spokesperson of the AAP and one of the youngest across parties.

When AAP won the 2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly election with a majority, Chadha at the age of 26 was appointed AAP's national treasurer. In April 2018, the then Union Minister of Home Affairs, Rajnath Singh, terminated his appointment as an advisor to Sisodia along with 9 other advisors.

Lok Sabha Election

In 2019, he contested from the [ Delhi (Lok Sabha constituency)|South Delhi Parliamentary Constituency]] in the 2019 Lok Sabha elections. He lost in the elections to the BJP candidate, Ramesh Bidhuri with an overwhelming gap of 50% votes Since the 1980s, South Delhi has been a BJP stronghold and represented by stalwarts like Madan Lal Khurana,Sushma Swaraj and Ramesh Bidhuri.

In 2020, as a leader of AAP, he was appointed AAP Punjab co-in-charge for the Punjab Legislative Assembly election.

MLA in Delhi Assembly

In February 2020, he contested from Rajendra Nagar in 2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election and won against BJP's candidate RP Singh with a margin of 20,058 votes. He polled a massive 57.06% of the total votes. Following the elections, he was appointed vice-chairman of the Delhi Jal Board (DJB) and assigned the water portfolio in the Delhi Government.

MP in Rajya Sabha

On 21 March 2022 it was announced that Delhi MLA Raghav Chadha along with four others were nominated by AAP for the post of Rajya Sabha members from Punjab for a six-year term starting 2022. No opposition candidate opposed their election. This made him the youngest MP at age 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.

In April 2022, he said that BJP settled Bangladeshis and Rohingyas in Delhi and uses them to cause riots.

Credited with the party's success in Punjab, on 18 September 2022 he was appointed co-in-charge for the 2022 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election.

Advisor to the Chief Minister of Punjab

After AAP's victory in the State, Punjab Chief Minister Bhagwant Mann appointed Raghav Chadha as the Chairman of an Advisory Panel. A plea challenging his appointment was struck down by the High Court.

Electoral performance

{{#section:South Delhi Lok Sabha constituency|General Election 2019}}

{{#section:Rajinder Nagar Assembly constituency|Assembly Election 2020}}

Personal life

Chadha got engaged to actress Parineeti Chopra, on 13 May 2023 at Kapurthala House in New Delhi. Chadha married Chopra on 24 September 2023 at The Leela Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony.

Controversies

On 8 August 2023, five MPs claimed that their names were mentioned on the proposal to send the Delhi NCR Amendment Bill to the Select Committee without their consent, by a motion moved by Raghav Chadha. They accused Chadha of forgery and breach of privilege. On 11 August, Chadha was suspended from the Rajya Sabha, for "Gross Violation Of Rules". He will remain suspended until the privilege committee decides on it.

Further reading

• "Raghav Chadha's decade in politics: From volunteer at anti-corruption movement to youngest Rajya Sabha member". The Indian Express. 24 March 2022. Retrieved 24 March 2022.

External links

Preceded by List	Member of Parliament in Rajya Sabha for Punjab 2022 –	Incumbent
State Legislative Assembly
Preceded by Vijender Garg Vijay (AAP)	Member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly from Rajinder Nagar (Vidhan Sabha constituency) 2020– 2022	Incumbent
Aam Aadmi Party political offices
Preceded by Office established	Co in-charge for 2022 Punjab Legislative Assembly election – present	Incumbent
Preceded by -	Member of National Executive Committee Aam Aadmi Party – present	Incumbent
Preceded by -	Spokesperson Aam Aadmi Party – present	Incumbent
Preceded by Office established	Co in-charge for 2022 Gujarat Legislative Assembly election September 2022 – present	Incumbent