The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Thursday appointed Punjab MP Ashok Mittal as its new deputy leader in the Rajya Sabha, replacing Raghav Chadha in the role.
The Arvind Kejriwal-led party has formally communicated the decision to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat, seeking to facilitate the transition and designate Mittal as the new Deputy Leader in the Upper House, according to sources.
At present, Sanjay Singh serves as the party’s leader in the Rajya Sabha and also heads the AAP parliamentary party.
The party has reportedly requested the Secretariat not to allocate speaking time to the outgoing deputy leader.
The development comes amid reports of unease between the party leadership and Chadha, although neither side has publicly acknowledged any rift.
Political speculation has also intensified over the possibility of Chadha shifting political allegiance ahead of the upcoming Punjab Assembly elections.
AAP currently has ten members in the Rajya Sabha, with a strong representation from Punjab, the only state where the party is in power.
Of these, seven MPs, Raghav Chadha, Rajinder Gupta, Ashok Kumar Mittal, Sandeep Kumar Pathak, Vikramjit Singh Sahney, Harbhajan Singh, and Sant Balbir Singh, are from Punjab, while Swati Maliwal, Narain Dass Gupta, and Sanjay Singh represent Delhi.
Chadha’s replacement by Mittal is being seen as an indication of the party’s discomfort with certain members in the Upper House.
Earlier, Swati Maliwal had openly rebelled against the leadership following a dispute over her position, though she continues to remain an AAP MP in the Rajya Sabha.
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