Nangloi Jat MLA Shokeen inducted into AAP Cabinet

A day after Kailash Gahlot resigned from the Aam Aadmi Party, the party inducted Nangloi Jat MLA Raghuvinder Shokeen into the Delhi Cabinet on Monday.

The 57-year-old Shokeen will be part of Atishi’s Cabinet, where he is likely to replace Gahlot, becoming the second new face in the Delhi Cabinet.

Shokeen, a Jat leader, first won his election in 2015, defeating BJP’s Manoj Kumar Shokeen by a significant margin of 37,024 votes. In 2020, he again defeated BJP’s Suman Lata by 11,624 votes.

A graduate in engineering from the National Institute of Technology (formerly known as Regional Engineering College) in Kurukshetra, Shokeen was part of the 1983-88 batch.

Before joining the AAP, Shokeen had won the 2012 MCD councillor elections from Quammruddin Nagar as a BJP candidate, defeating Congress’ Jai Bhagwan.

Shokeen is likely to replace Gahlot, who was in charge of Transport, Home, Administrative Reforms, Information Technology and Women and Child Development.

Meanwhile, the AAP has acted swiftly following Gahlot’s departure. The party quickly claimed that Gahlot was coerced into joining the BJP due to investigations by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) and the Income Tax Department. “He had no choice but to join the BJP. This is a dirty conspiracy by the BJP. They want to win the Delhi elections with the help of the ED and CBI,” party sources said.

In response, within 24 hours, the AAP inducted Shokeen into the Cabinet, signalling an attempt to woo Jat voters, as Shokeen hails from the Jat-dominated area of Nangloi.

Shokeen’s inclusion highlights his deep roots in rural Delhi politics and his record as a dedicated public servant. With a background in civil engineering and years of political experience, he is expected to bring both expertise and commitment to his new role, strengthening the AAP government’s outreach and governance.

“I thank Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia and the entire leadership of the party for giving me this opportunity. The AAP has always worked by including every section of society, while the BJP has consistently worked against the Jat community, whether it was during the farmers’ protest, the wrestlers’ issue, or the Haryana elections,” Shokeen said at a press conference.

Shokeen then turned his attention to ‘Jat politics’, criticising the BJP. He said, “The BJP won the Haryana elections by creating a divide, framing it as ‘Jats versus others’, and dividing our community. Since the Hindu-Muslim divide doesn’t work there, they used Jat-non-Jat politics to divide Haryana.”

With Jats constituting around 5 to 10 per cent of the voting population, the AAP is strategically banking on the community as the Assembly elections approach.