Even though former AAP leader and State Transport Minister Kailash Gahlot resigned from the Cabinet and joined the BJP on Monday in front of Union Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, the Aam Aadmi Party has chosen Nangloi Jat MLA Raghuvinder Shokeen to succeed him.
Somesh Shokeen, a former Congress MLA from Matiala and another Delhi Jat leader, joined the AAP alongside Arvind Kejriwal. According to BJP sources, Gahlot has been promised a ticket from the Najafgarh constituency in the next elections. Gahlot served in the AAP Cabinet with portfolios in transport, home, administrative reforms, information technology, and women and child development.
Several important projects were also under his supervision, including the electrification of bus depots, the introduction of electric buses, and one of the AAP’s election promises, the Mahila Samman Rashi schemes, under which former CM Arvind Kejriwal announced a fee of Rs 1,000 per month for all women aged 18 to 60.
It is unclear what portfolios would be assigned to Shokeen, but party insiders say he is likely to take over Gahlot’s departments and may be tasked with carrying out the Mahila Samman Rashi project before the Assembly elections.
Raghuvinder Shokeen, a two-time MLA from the Nangloi Jat constituency, joined the AAP in 2015. Before that, AAP officials stated that he had been with the party since its beginnings and had worked with senior leaders. Shokeen, a construction engineer and educator, conducts multiple primary schools in rural and other locations in Delhi.
A top AAP leader stated, “Shokeen is a Jat face, and his presence will influence voters in the city’s rural areas, attracting them to the AAP.” The Jat vote proportion in Delhi is merely 4-5 percent, but his image will help him gain more votes, and he has a stronger presence among people. Rural portions of Delhi are also seeing an increase in the number of migrants from western Uttar Pradesh and Bihar who have moved in illegal colonies.