How a young CA, Raghav Chadha, became a key player in the Aam Aadmi Party

Raghav Chadha, the youngest Rajya Sabha member, is soon to tie the knot with Bollywood actor Parineeti Chopra. The 33-year-old Chartered Accountant doesn't come from a family of politicians; instead, he has only been in politics for a decade, having started his political journey in 2013.

For Parineeti Chopra, marriage had always been on the cards, but she had also stated that she would never marry a politician. With Raghav Chadha, she is partly correct because he is a young politician who operates differently from his counterparts.

For Chadha, entering politics was a stroke of fate when he met Aam Aadmi Party Chief Arvind Kejriwal during the final stages of the India Against Corruption (IAC) movement in 2013, initiated by social activist Anna Hazare.

Chadha, who had just returned after studying finance at the London School of Economics, met Kejriwal, and in no time, became the face of the party on national television.

How did Raghav Chadha rise in the AAP?

Raghav Chadha's initial assignment was to assist Rahul Mehra, a lawyer, in drafting the Delhi Janlokpal Bill. He was entrusted with this task by Arvind Kejriwal during their first meeting.

"I was one of the people who worked on it, although it went through numerous changes," he was quoted as saying in the book Capital Conquest: How the AAP’s Incredible Victory has Redefined Indian Elections, by Saba Naqvi. When AAP was founded, Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, Kumar Vishwas, and other leaders were busy organising the party, while Chadha became the sole representative of the party on national TV channels.

Initially, the media did not take the AAP party seriously, as many believed it was merely an offshoot of the IAC movement that would fade away. However, the results of the Delhi assembly elections in 2013, which gave the AAP party 28 seats and briefly made Kejriwal the Chief Minister, compelled people to take the party seriously.

Raghav Chadha obtained his CA practice license at the age of 22. He also pursued a degree in Finance from the London School of Economics, and his qualifications attested to his competence.

He became an articulate spokesperson for the party, expressing his views with conviction. Initially, AAP party spokespersons were not given much airtime, and Chadha had decided not to appear on certain channels. However, as his popularity grew, he began to participate more frequently in debates.

"He aimed to be someone who could bring about significant changes in governance and public policies. His transition from being a chartered accountant to a politician was thus very organic. He possessed a strong understanding of finance, taxation, audits, law, and accounting—skills he could apply to politics," revealed Raghav's childhood friend and schoolmate, Rahul Choudhary, to The Print.

Elections

In 2019, Raghav Chadha unsuccessfully contested the South Delhi constituency against Ramesh Bidhuri. In 2020, he ran for and won the MLA seat from the Rajendra Nagar constituency in Delhi.

In March 2022, it was announced that Raghav Chadha, along with four others, was nominated as Rajya Sabha MPs from Punjab, making him the youngest MP at the age of 33.

Chadha played a significant role in AAP's victory in the Punjab elections in 2022, as he was the key organizer of the polls. Following the success of the Punjab elections, Chadha was entrusted with the election responsibilities for the Gujarat elections in 2022, where he served as the co-incharge.

His next challenge is to lead AAP in winning the maximum number of seats in the 2024 general elections, even if the party forms an alliance with the INDIA bloc.