In a bid to woo Jat voters, the AAP government on Monday inducted Nangloi MLA Raghuvinder Shokeen into the Delhi cabinet, a day after transport minister Kailash Gahlot quit the party.  Shokeen is a prominent face in Nangloi, which is Jat dominated constituency. The move is being seen as to intact the jat electorates. 

At a press conference, senior AAP leader amd former deputy chief minister Manish Sisodia said AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal has decided that Shokeen will be the Cabinet minister in Delhi government.

The 57 year old leader, who is a civil engineer, has served as the Member of Legislative Assembly (MLA) for two terms from Nangloi Jat. Prior to that, he was elected as a councillor for two terms.

“As it is often said about the AAP, it is a party of educated people. Arvind Kejriwal himself is highly educated, and so is his team. Raghuvinder Shokeen has also been a Civil Engineer. He has served as an MLA twice from Nangloi Jat and before that, he was a councilor twice. He has contributed to various sectors under the Delhi government at different times and has been actively engaged in politics in rural Delhi,” Sisiodia said, expressing confidence that Shokeen will serve the people of Delhi and will fulfill all the responsibilities assigned to him with utmost dedication.

“Additionally, he will emerge as the voice of rural Delhi, the area he represents,” he asserted. Further, Shokeen said the AAP has always taken all communities together.  "First of all, I want to thank all senior leaders of the party, including Kejriwal and Sisodia, that they have given me this opportunity. The AAP has always taken all the communities together, while the BJP has always worked against Jats be it farmers' protest, wrestlers' issue, or Haryana election," Shokeen alleged.

When asked about Gahlot's induction into the BJP, Sisodia said, "It is up to him. He has been with us for a long time. If he wants to work with BJP, that is his decision."

Meanwhile, expressing his gratitude to the party and Arvind Kejriwal, Raghuvinder Shokeen said, “I thank Arvind Kejriwal, Manish Sisodia, and the entire top 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 issue of wrestlers, or the Haryana elections.”