Nangloi Jat MLA Shokeen inducted into AAP cabinet following Gahlot's switch to BJP

New Delhi: AAP on Monday announced engineered-turned-politician Raghivinder Shokeen as a new minister in Atishi-led Delhi government in place of Kailash Gahlot who joined the BJP after resigning from the party a day before.

The induction of the 57-year-old civil engineer comes as the party rushed to plug any trouble among the Jat community in the capital owing to the desertion of Gahlot, a Jat who quit the government and party on Sunday and joined the rival BJP, months ahead of Delhi Assembly elections.

Senior leader Manish Sisodia said party chief Arvind Kejriwal has made the decision to make Shokeen, who was a councillor before he became an MLA for the first time in 2015, a minister.

AAP leaders claim that Gahlot does not enjoy popularity in Najafgarh, a Jat dominated seat, and they had plans to replace him with another leader.

With the entry of Shokeen, who represents Nangloi Jat for the second term, AAP hopes to minimise any loss in votes. Incidentally, Nangloi Jat is located just 12 kilometres from Najafgarh.

"As it is often said about the AAP, it is a party of educated people. Kejriwal himself is highly educated, and so is his team. Shokeen has also been a civil engineer. He has contributed to various sectors under the Delhi government at different times and has been actively engaged in politics in rural Delhi," Sisodia said.

Shokeen said he was surprised by the party's decision to choose him. "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 issue of wrestlers, or the Haryana elections," he said.

"The BJP won the Haryana elections by making it 'Jats versus others' and worked to divide our community. Since the Hindu-Muslim divide does not work there, they divided Haryana through Jat-non-Jat politics," he added.