Why Arvind Kejriwal’s Rajya Sabha picks keep backfiring

Odd Rajya Sabha choices and poor conflict management risk turning AAP into just another party it once opposed

The recent war of words between Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) Rajya Sabha MP Raghav Chadha and his party has laid bare deep internal fractures. AAP formally wrote to the Rajya Sabha secretariat to remove Chadha as the party's deputy leader and restrict his speaking time from the party's quota. Chadha reacted sharply, calling himself "silenced, not defeated”.

This episode echoes a May 2024 controversy involving Swati Maliwal, another AAP Rajya Sabha MP, who alleged manhandling by Arvind Kejriwal’s aide Bibhav Kumar at the chief minister’s residence. The party initially acknowledged the incident but later distanced itself.

Both Chadha and Maliwal share striking commonalities: they joined Kejriwal well before AAP’s formal launch in 2012, and remained loyal till they had a fallout. Chadha focused in recent months on broader public issues such as Janta canteens at airports and 10-minute delivery challenges, rather than strictly toeing the AAP line on party-specific battles. AAP — grappling with its Delhi electoral setback, multiple central agency cases against top leaders, including Kejriwal, and the looming 2027 Punjab polls — expected its upper house voices to amplify existential struggles. The rift with Chadha predates recent events, surfacing prominently after Kejriwal’s arrest when Chadha’s relative silence and absence drew internal ire.

Rise of the ‘outsider’

Meanwhile, AAP’s approach to Rajya Sabha nominations reveals a puzzling policy that deviates sharply from its founding ethos of empowering the common man and rejecting moneyed influence. With minimal Lok Sabha presence — four seats from Punjab in 2014, dropping to one in 2019, and going up to three in 2024 — the upper house offered a natural platform for intellectual firepower and oratory. The party failed to leverage it strategically.

In 2018, when AAP first secured Rajya Sabha seats through its Assembly strength in Delhi, expectations ran high for vocal leaders like Ashutosh or Ashish Khetan (both later exited the party). Instead, two out of the three names stunned observers: Sanjay Singh (a founding member and early activist), alongside Narain Das Gupta (a chartered accountant who served as the party’s CA and expert on GST matters) and Sushil Gupta (a rich businessman and former Congress contestant). The latter two had no prior AAP activism or public political profile, raising eyebrows about wealth playing a role over grassroots commitment.

Following its 2022 victory in the Punjab Assembly, AAP nominated in phases. They included: Raghav Chadha (former Delhi MLA and Delhi Jal Board head) and Sandeep Pathak (an IIT alumnus, with organisational experience). Others stood out: Harbhajan Singh (cricketer-turned-politician), Ashok Kumar Mittal (founder-chancellor of Lovely Professional University, who entered active politics that year), and Sanjeev Arora (industrialist who later resigned after winning a Punjab Assembly seat and becoming a minister; he was replaced by industrialist Rajinder Gupta of the Trident Group). In a subsequent phase came Vikramjit Singh Sahney (a Padma Shri-awarded entrepreneur, philanthropist, and businessman with declared assets exceeding Rs 498 crore) and Balbir Singh Seechewal (renowned environmentalist focused on cleaning the Sutlej river, a Padma Shri recipient with activist credentials). In 2024, AAP added Swati Maliwal from Delhi, replacing Sushil Gupta.

Repeated failures

Except for a handful like Chadha, Pathak, Sanjay Singh, and Maliwal, the pattern tilts toward affluent or accomplished businessmen, education barons, and celebrities, rather than battle-hardened party cadre or orators steeped in AAP’s anti-corruption, pro-common-person ideology. This shift marked an early departure from the party’s ideological roots, signalling that the era of pure volunteer-driven politics had given way to pragmatic, resource-driven selections. Critics could argue such choices brought expertise and financial heft, but they also diluted the ‘aam aadmi’ narrative AAP championed.

Were Chadha and Maliwal poor initial choices? Not inherently. Both proved hardworking AAP warriors who earned recognition through early loyalty and contributions. Chadha’s MLA stint and role in the jal board demonstrated capability; sidelining him now raises questions about whether superior alternatives truly existed, or if the move reflects leadership discomfort with independent voices. Maliwal’s pre-AAP activism on women’s issues added value. The deeper issue lies elsewhere. 

Kejriwal has historically struggled with nurturing personal and political relationships at the national level. Beyond a consistent rapport with leaders like Mamata Banerjee, his circle of allies remains limited. This trait extends inward: AAP has repeatedly faltered in managing internal dissent or conflicts, which reflects the absence of effective troubleshooters or institutionalised conflict-resolution mechanisms. Publicly stripping an MP of deputy leader status and speaking rights projects disarray, especially when the party faces external pressures from central agencies and electoral challenges. Reasonable policy differences could have been addressed discreetly rather than through open confrontation, which only damages the party’s image as a cohesive, and principled alternative.

Change in approach

AAP’s Rajya Sabha policy appears neither ideologically consistent nor politically prudent in the long run. While a few selections injected talent and visibility, the overall reliance on wealthy or recent entrants over loyal political organisers contradicts the party’s foundational promise. Combined with poor internal conflict management, it risks alienating dedicated voices and reinforcing perceptions that AAP has become ‘just like any other party’ — pragmatic to a fault, where loyalty is rewarded until it isn’t, and wealth or external stature trumps ideological purity.

For a party fighting for survival in Delhi while eyeing Punjab’s future, the Rajya Sabha should be a platform for robust defense and clear idea dissemination. Instead, the current approach risks turning it into a stage for recurring embarrassment. Kejriwal and AAP must rethink not just their nominations but also how they manage their own: with maturity, mechanisms for dialogue, and fidelity to the aam aadmi ethos that propelled their rise. Without course correction, these odd choices may deepen larger strategic vulnerabilities.

(Sayantan Ghosh is the author of The Aam Aadmi Party: The Untold Story of a Political Uprising and Its Undoing. X: @sayantan_gh.)

(Disclaimer: The views expressed above are the author's own. They do not necessarily reflect the views of DH)