In Indian politics, some leaders become synonymous with their party. Their voice becomes the voice of the party, the party is identified by their name, but the game of power is murderous. One day suddenly he is thrown aside. These stories are not just personal, but stories of alliances, families, factionalism and the hunger for ‘new faces’. Be it Raghav Chaddha, RCP Singh or Sanjay Joshi.. These leaders were also once ‘priceless gems’ of the party. Let’s understand in the explainer how this became ‘old stuff’…
Raghav Chaddha- AAP: Face of Delhi Model, suddenly removed in 2026
Raghav Chadha was one of the brightest faces of AAP. In 2022, he became Rajya Sabha MP from Punjab, became the national spokesperson of the party, asked sharp questions on the budget and took Kejriwal’s ‘Arvind Kejriwal’ image to the national level, but on April 2, 2026, AAP suddenly took a shocking decision. Raghav Chadha was removed from the post of deputy leader in Rajya Sabha. His place was given to Ashok Mittal. The party wrote a letter to the Rajya Sabha Secretariat saying that now Chadha should not be given time to speak from the party quota.
Political experts believe that Chadha had become silent after AAP’s defeat in the 2025 Delhi Assembly elections. He stayed away from Kejriwal’s programs, increasing his distance from the core agenda of the party. Party sources called it ‘indiscipline’. BJP and Congress termed it as ‘rift in AAP’. Till just 24 hours ago, Chadha was the face of the party, the next day he was sidelined.
RCP Singh- JD(U): Closest to Nitish Kumar, out in 2022
RCP Singh was the most trusted aide of Nitish Kumar. In 2020, he became the National President of JD(U), in 2021 he became the Union Steel Minister. He was considered Nitish’s ‘right hand’, but Nitish refused to give him Rajya Sabha ticket in 2022. Then he was accused of corruption. On 6 August 2022, JD(U) sought clarification from him. On the same day RCP Singh left the party. He said, ‘There was a relationship with Nitish Kumar for 30 years, but now it is over.’ Nitish did not call him a ‘traitor’, but the party made it clear – there is no place for him now. Today he is out of JD(U).
Sanjay Joshi- BJP: Chanakya of RSS, ‘sitting’ in the eyes of Modi
Sanjay Joshi was an old warrior of BJP and RSS. In the 1990s, he became the general secretary of Gujarat BJP and strengthened the organization, but was removed in 2005 after a CD scandal. In 2011, Nitin Gadkari got him re-entered into the party, but Narendra Modi, who was the then Chief Minister of Gujarat, was unhappy with this decision. Finally on June 8, 2012, Sanjay Joshi resigned from BJP. After 2014, he became completely sidelined. In 2015, the party served notices to those who put up posters on his birthday. Even today he is a ‘closed chapter’ for BJP.
Ghulam Nabi Azad- Congress: 50 years of service, ‘Rahul Gandhi broke it’ in 2022
Ghulam Nabi Azad was one of the biggest faces of Congress. He was a Rajya Sabha MP from Jammu and Kashmir, Health Minister and Congress General Secretary. Referring to Rahul Gandhi’s ‘one person, one post’ policy in 2022 and the lack of consultation in the party, he left Congress by writing a 5-page letter on 26 August 2022. He wrote in a letter to Sonia Gandhi, ‘Rahul Gandhi has destroyed the advisory system of the party.’ Then Azad formed his own party DPAP, but he was ‘synonymous’ in Congress, today he is sidelined.
Dinesh Trivedi- TMC: Minister in Mamata’s government, resignation in 2021
Dinesh Trivedi was a senior leader of Trinamool Congress (TMC) and had also been the Railway Minister. He resigned from Rajya Sabha on 12 February 2021, before the 2021 West Bengal elections. He said, ‘Violence and incidents are not tolerable in Bengal.’ After his resignation, he also praised Modi. He was an ‘old confidant’ in Mamata Banerjee’s TMC, but was suddenly sidelined.
Raj Thackeray- Shiv Sena: Nephew of Bal Thackeray, sidelined by family in 2005
Raj Thackeray was the most aggressive face of Shiv Sena, but after Uddhav Thackeray was made the working president in 2003, Raj felt insulted. On 27 November 2005, he left Shiv Sena while giving an emotional speech at Shivaji Park Gymkhana. He said, ‘I had only asked for respect, I got insult.’ Later he formed MNS. Even after 20 years, he is the ‘sideline’ face of Shiv Sena.
CM Ibrahim- JDS: Face of Karnataka, thrown out in 2023
CM Ibrahim was the Karnataka president of JDS, but in October 2023 he opposed the BJP-JDS alliance. Kumaraswamy removed him on 19 October 2023 and expelled him from the party on 9 December 2023. Abraham said, ‘I will go to the people.’ He was ‘Deve Gowda’s confidant’ in JDS, but was sidelined overnight.
Azam Khan- SP: Badshah of Rampur, jail and sideline
Azam Khan was the most powerful face of SP. He has been MLA and Minister from Rampur 7 times, but was sent to jail in many cases since 2020. Convicted in fake PAN card case in February 2020. Then in November 2025 he was sentenced to 7 years. While in jail, SP sidelined him. Akhilesh Yadav had said about Azam Khan, ‘The party will decide.’ While in jail, his active role in SP reduced. In some reports, the family complained that Akhilesh Yadav did not show much support during his jail term. The command of the party in Rampur was handed over to other leaders. Although soon after his release, Akhilesh made him the star campaigner of Bihar elections, but repeated jail visits kept Azam Khan away from political activities.
O. Panneerselvam- AIADMK: Became CM after Jayalalitha, but Sasikala sidelined
O. Panneerselvam (OPS) was closest to Jayalalitha. After the death of Jayalalitha in December 2016, he became the Tamil Nadu CM from AIADMK, but in 2017, VK Sasikala tried to make herself the CM by removing him. OPS started ‘Dharma Yudh’. Later met with EPS, but in 2026 EPS refused to let OPS come back into the party. He was the ‘honest face’ of AIADMK, today he is standing on the sidelines.
These stories show that it is not easy to become a ‘synonym’ in politics, but it is even easier to be sidelined. The face that is there today becomes ‘old’ tomorrow. These leaders remind that the party is always above the ‘individual’, but sometimes the individual is sacrificed.