Raghav Chadha’s biography — youngest Rajya Sabha MP, CA-turned-politician & husband of Parineeti Chopra. Learn about his age, career shift to BJP & net worth.
Raghav Chadha is one of India’s most recognisable young politicians — a Chartered Accountant from Delhi who rose from the anti-corruption trenches of the Aam Aadmi Party to become the youngest Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha. For over a decade, he was the articulate, suit-wearing face of the AAP on primetime television, known for dismantling political opponents with calm precision and a command of financial data that most career politicians could not match.
His marriage to Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra in 2023 elevated his profile even further, blending India’s political and entertainment universes in a union that generated national headlines. Then, in April 2026, he shocked the political establishment by defecting to the Bharatiya Janata Party — the very party he had spent 14 years attacking — in a move that redrew the lines of Indian parliamentary politics.
Quick Facts About Raghav Chadha
| Detail | Information |
|---|---|
| Full Name | Raghav Chadha |
| Date of Birth | 11 November 1988 |
| Age | 37 (as of 2026) |
| Place of Birth | Central Delhi, India |
| Profession | Politician, Chartered Accountant |
| Current Party | Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) — from April 2026 |
| Former Party | Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) — 2012 to 2026 |
| Parliament | Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab (from 2022) |
| Spouse | Parineeti Chopra (married 24 September 2023) |
| Children | One son, Neer (born 19 October 2025) |
| Net Worth | Approximately ₹37–50 lakhs (per 2022 affidavit) |
| Famous For | Youngest Rajya Sabha MP; AAP spokesman; BJP defection 2026 |
Early Life and Family Background
Raghav Chadha was born on 11 November 1988 in Central Delhi. He grew up in a middle-class household in the heart of the capital, where everyday exposure to urban governance failures — poor water supply, air quality, and public accountability gaps — shaped his political instincts long before he entered politics. His father, Sunil Chadha, was a businessman, and his mother, Alka Chadha, managed the household.
From an early age, Chadha displayed a sharp analytical mind. Classmates and teachers at Modern School, New Delhi, recalled a student who was as comfortable with balance sheets as he was with debate. That dual aptitude — for numbers and for argument — would define his entire public career.
Education: From Modern School to Chartered Accountant
Chadha received his school education from Modern School, New Delhi, and earned his bachelor’s degree in Commerce from the University of Delhi in 2009. He then pursued Chartered Accountancy from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India, qualifying in 2011.
By the time he was in his early twenties, Chadha was already among the top taxpayers in India. He went on to work with two of the world’s most prestigious accountancy firms — Deloitte and Grant Thornton — before shifting his attention entirely to public service. He later pursued further studies in London, adding an international policy dimension to an already impressive academic profile.
Early Political Career: The AAP Years
Chadha had been a part of the Aam Aadmi Party since its inception. Arvind Kejriwal encouraged him in drafting the Delhi Lokpal Bill in 2012, which was also his first political task. He quickly established himself as the party’s most telegenic spokesperson — sharp, data-driven, and composed under fire. He became the youngest national spokesperson of the AAP and one of the youngest such figures in Indian political history.
When AAP won the 2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly election with a majority, Chadha, at the age of 26, was appointed AAP’s national treasurer. The role placed him at the centre of the party’s financial governance at a remarkably young age and reinforced his image as a technocrat in a party that had staked its identity on clean, efficient administration.
In 2019, he tested national electoral waters. Chadha contested from the South Delhi Lok Sabha constituency for the 2019 Lok Sabha elections but lost to the BJP candidate Ramesh Bidhuri — a defeat in a constituency that had been a BJP stronghold since the 1980s and was never considered winnable for AAP.
MLA, Delhi Jal Board and the Punjab Landslide
In February 2020, Chadha contested from Rajinder Nagar in the Delhi Legislative Assembly election and won against BJP’s candidate RP Singh with a margin of 20,058 votes, polling a massive 57.06% of total votes. The victory was one of the largest margins in that election cycle and cemented his standing within the party.
Following the elections, he was appointed Vice Chairman of the Delhi Jal Board, where he focused on providing clean, 24×7 piped water supply and cleaning the Yamuna River, significantly improving Delhi’s water management systems.
His biggest organisational contribution came in 2022. Chadha was appointed AAP Punjab co-in-charge for the Punjab Legislative Assembly election, playing a crucial role in the party’s eventual landslide victory, where AAP won 92 out of 117 seats. It remains one of the most decisive state assembly wins in modern Indian political history.
Youngest Rajya Sabha MP in Indian History
On 21 March 2022, AAP announced the nomination of Chadha and four other individuals as Rajya Sabha members from Punjab for a six-year term starting 2022. No opposition candidate opposed their election. This made him the youngest Indian Rajya Sabha MP ever at the age of 33.
He was also appointed as a member of the Parliament’s Standing Committee on Finance in the Rajya Sabha — the committee that oversees laws and policies drafted by three union ministries and the NITI Aayog. The appointment put his CA background to direct legislative use and gave him a platform to influence India’s economic policy from within Parliament’s upper house.
Personal Life: Marriage to Parineeti Chopra
Chadha got engaged to actress Parineeti Chopra on 13 May 2023 at Kapurthala House in New Delhi. They were married on 24 September 2023 at The Leela Palace, Udaipur, Rajasthan, in a traditional Hindu wedding ceremony. The ceremony drew widespread coverage, with political leaders, Bollywood celebrities, and business figures attending in equal measure.
The couple welcomed their first child, a boy, on 19 October 2025. The child, named Neer, represented a new chapter for a couple whose union had already become one of India’s most-followed political-celebrity marriages. Chadha has kept his family life largely out of parliamentary discourse, maintaining a firm boundary between public and private spheres.
Eye Surgery and Rajya Sabha Suspension
In 2024, Chadha went to London to undergo a vitrectomy surgery. When asked about his long absence, his party colleague Saurabh Bhardwaj claimed that he could have lost eyesight if not for the timely operation. His extended absence from Parliament drew questions but was ultimately explained on medical grounds.
Earlier, in August 2023, Chadha had faced a more politically damaging episode. On 8 August 2023, five MPs claimed that their names were mentioned on a 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.” The suspension became a flashpoint in India’s parliamentary discourse, with AAP accusing the ruling establishment of political vendetta and opponents citing procedural misconduct.
Awards and International Recognition
Chadha’s rise attracted recognition beyond Indian borders. In 2022, the World Economic Forum named him a Young Global Leader — a distinction reserved for individuals under 40 who demonstrate exceptional potential to shape the world’s future. In January 2023, he received the India-UK Outstanding Achievers Honour in London, for his contributions to government and democratic politics. He has also won the Most Stylish Politician award at the India Fashion Awards on two occasions, reflecting a public profile that extends well beyond policy debate.
The 2026 Defection: From AAP to BJP
Amid speculations, Chadha defected to the Bharatiya Janata Party on 24 April 2026, along with six other AAP MPs of the Rajya Sabha, despite having previously referred to the BJP as a party of illiterate goons.
In a strategic legislative manoeuvre, Chadha joined the BJP along with six other AAP Rajya Sabha MPs — including Sandeep Pathak and Swati Maliwal — by moving with two-thirds of the legislative party. They exercised the merger provisions under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution of India to avoid disqualification under the anti-defection law, allowing them to join the BJP without losing their parliamentary seats.
The move was described across Indian media as a seismic jolt to the AAP. Arvind Kejriwal condemned it publicly, and the episode raised questions about the depth of internal discontent within the party following AAP’s declining electoral fortunes in Delhi in 2025.
Controversies
In May 2023, media reports emerged that Chadha’s name was mentioned in the Enforcement Directorate’s second supplementary chargesheet in the money laundering case pertaining to the 2022 Delhi liquor policy case. No conviction has followed, and Chadha has consistently denied wrongdoing.
In April 2024, during a rally in Amritsar, Kunwar Vijay Pratap Singh accused Chadha of having close associations with at least two Punjab Police officers allegedly involved in supporting the drug trade in the city. The allegations were never substantiated in court, but they contributed to a picture of mounting political pressure on Chadha in the months before his eventual defection.
Net Worth
According to his 2022 election affidavit filed with the Election Commission of India, Raghav Chadha’s declared net worth stands at approximately ₹37 to ₹50 lakhs — modest by the standards of Indian parliamentarians — comprising residential property, gold holdings, and financial investments. His primary income sources have been his parliamentary salary and prior earnings from his accountancy career. No major commercial endorsements or business ventures have been publicly declared.
In Summary
Raghav Chadha’s career arc — from Chartered Accountant to AAP founding member, from youngest Rajya Sabha MP to BJP defector — is one of the more dramatic in contemporary Indian politics. He combined elite financial credentials with grassroots political instinct in a way that few politicians of his generation have managed, and his role in delivering Punjab to AAP in 2022 stands as a genuine organisational achievement.
His April 2026 defection reframes that legacy in ways that will take time to fully assess. Whether it marks an opportunistic pivot or a principled shift will be debated for years. What is certain is that Raghav Chadha, at 37, is far from the final chapter of his public story.
For a politician who built his name on anti-corruption rhetoric, the greatest scrutiny now comes not from opponents — but from the mirror of his own earlier words.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q1: Who is Raghav Chadha?
Raghav Chadha is an Indian politician and Chartered Accountant born on 11 November 1988 in New Delhi. He is a Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha from Punjab and was previously a prominent leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) before defecting to the BJP in April 2026. He is also known as the husband of Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra.
Q2: How old is Raghav Chadha in 2026?
Raghav Chadha is 37 years old as of 2026, born on 11 November 1988. He made history in 2022 as the youngest-ever Member of Parliament in India’s Rajya Sabha at the age of 33.
Q3: Who is Raghav Chadha’s wife?
Raghav Chadha is married to Bollywood actress Parineeti Chopra. They got engaged on 13 May 2023 in New Delhi and married on 24 September 2023 at The Leela Palace in Udaipur, Rajasthan. The couple welcomed their son Neer on 19 October 2025.
Q4: Why did Raghav Chadha leave AAP and join BJP?
On 24 April 2026, Chadha resigned from the AAP and joined the BJP alongside six other Rajya Sabha MPs. The group invoked the anti-defection merger provision under the 10th Schedule of the Constitution, allowing them to switch parties without losing their seats. The move was widely seen as a major blow to AAP.
Q5: What is Raghav Chadha’s educational background?
Chadha studied at Modern School, New Delhi, completed a Bachelor of Commerce from the University of Delhi in 2009, and qualified as a Chartered Accountant from the Institute of Chartered Accountants of India in 2011. He later worked at Deloitte and Grant Thornton before entering politics.
Q6: What awards has Raghav Chadha received?
He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2022 and received the India-UK Outstanding Achievers Honour in London in January 2023. He has also won the Most Stylish Politician title at the India Fashion Awards on two occasions.
Q7: What is Raghav Chadha’s net worth?
According to his 2022 election affidavit, Raghav Chadha’s declared net worth is approximately ₹37 to ₹50 lakhs, comprising property, gold, and financial investments. He has not publicly declared any major commercial business interests or endorsement deals.
