Raghav Chadha has won in Rajinder Nagar according Election Commission data.- He's come out ahead with a margin of 20,058 votes.
- The Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) won in 2015 as well however Chadha increased the party's vote share by 3.67%.
Raghav Chadha, one of the Aam Aadmi Party’s (AAP) youngest members, was up against Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) RP Singh and Indian National Congress’ Rocky Tuseed.
Ahead of the final result being declared, party workers were already celebrating.
"The public has proven that the Kejriwal model of development is the real model for national development and patriotism. Today, this win is a win for the Delhi public and a win for Kejriwal’s model of development," said Chadha at a rally after the win.
"People of Delhi have also proven that Kejriwal is not a terrorist but a true patriot," he added.
The last time the BJP was in power in the constituency was in 2013 under Singh. And, he was hoping to make a return to power. This is the second consecutive win for AAP in the constituency. During the 2015 election, AAP’s Vijender Garg Vijay won the seat with 53.39% of the vote share. Chadha as able to increase the vote share this time by 3.67%.
Rajinder Nagar has a high Poorvanchali population -- migrants from Bihar, Jharkhand and Eastern Uttar Pradesh. They comprise nearly 40% of votes in Delhi, something the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) knows.
And, Chadha’s track record hasn’t been all good. In 2019, he contested from the South Delhi seat during the Lok Sabha election and lost to BJP’s candidate — Ramesh Bidhuri. However, luck seems to have turned around for him.
Chadha and AAP
Chadha joined the AAP during the Anna Movement — India Against Corruption — where he met Arvind Kejriwal and Rahul Mehra. He was one of the few people that helped Kejriwal draft the Delhi Lokpal Bill in 2013.
He frequently appears on television as AAP’s spokesperson during news debates, most popularly on Times Now. At the age of 26 years, he is one of the youngest party spokespersons for AAP.
A criminal record, a case and an apology
While he comes from a non-political background, he quickly earned himself a criminal record.
Chadha was arrested by the Delhi police in 2015 during protests against the government’s inaction towards the growing number of attacks on churches in the city.
He was also sued for defamation by the late Arun Jaitley for retweeting a post that was defamatory — a case that was retracted after Kejriwal retracted his statements and apologised.