Sandeep Kumar (politician)

Sandeep Kumar is an Indian politician who served as minister of SC/ST Welfare and Women and Child Welfare in the Delhi government, under the Chief Minister of Delhi, Arvind Kejriwal. He was the youngest minister in Kejriwal's cabinet during his tenure. He was a member of the Aam Aadmi Party He represents Sultan Pur Majra (Assembly constituency) in the Sixth Legislative Assembly of Delhi.

Sandeep Kumar
MLA
In office
14 February 2015 – 31 August 2016
ConstituencySultan Pur Majra (Delhi Assembly constituency)
Minister for SC/ST Welfare and Women and Child Welfare
Member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly for Sultan Pur Majra (Delhi Assembly constituency)
Personal details
Born (1980-07-12) 12 July 1980
Sonipat, Haryana [1][2]
NationalityIndian
Political partyAam Aadmi Party
ProfessionLawyer, Politician

Kumar was removed from his cabinet post and expelled from his party by Kejriwal on 31 August 2016 after he allegedly appeared in a sex tape.

Early life and education

Sandeep Kumar is a son of Zile Singh. He is resident in the Sultanpur area in Delhi. He completed his 12th standard in 2001, under the CBSE board of Delhi. He acquired a Bachelor of Arts (BA) from Dyal Singh college, University of Delhi in 2004. He gained an LLB degree from the Chaudhary Charan Singh University, Meerut in 2009. He is married to Ritu Verma, who is a housewife.[3]

Political career

A lawyer, Kumar fought cases for economically and socially backward people, without taking any fees. He first met Arvind Kejriwal, who was later instrumental in founding the AAP, during the India Against Corruption movement in 2012.[4]

Kumar contested the 2013 Delhi Legislative Assembly elections as an AAP member in the Sultan Pur Majra Assembly constituency, which is reserved for Scheduled Caste candidates. He secured 30,346 votes, finishing second to the sitting Member of the Legislative Assembly (MLA), Jai Kishan of the Indian National Congress (INC), by a margin of 1,112 votes.[5]

The AAP renominated Kumar for the constituency in the 2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly elections. He won with 80,269 votes. He defeated Kishan, who finished third, by 64,439 votes and also Parbhu Dayal, a Municipal Corporation of Delhi councillor of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).[4][6] Polling the highest percentage margin of any winning candidate, at 56 per cent,[7] he was described as a "giant killer" by The Financial Express for defeating the four-times elected Kishan.[4]

After the AAP's defeat in Delhi in the 2014 Indian general election, where all seven Delhi seats were won by BJP, Kumar and other volunteers were credited with revival at the grass-root levels. He conducted several corner meetings and organised door-to-door voter connect campaign to increase the voter base in North West Delhi. His elevation as minister of SC/ST Welfare and Women and Child Welfare, in Kejriwal's cabinet was regarded as a recognition of his efforts for the party.[4] The ministry was previously held by Rakhi Birla, who courted controversy in the last Kejriwal cabinet.[8] He was also placed in charge of the social welfare and language ministries.[9] With average age of 42 years, the cabinet was described as the "youngest" in the country, and 34-year-old Kumar was its youngest member.[10]

Kumar was removed by Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal on 31 August 2016 after he received a sex CD showing Kumar in a compromising position having sex with two women.[11] Kumar was arrested by Delhi Police on 3 September 2016 after a woman alleged he had spiked her drink, raped her and secretly filmed her.[12] His membership of the AAP was suspended.[13] He was subsequently expelled from the AAP and in September 2016 was placed in judicial custody for a fortnight.[14] He was granted bail in November 2016, with the judge noting that any trial would have to determine several possible explanations for the actions that were claimed to be rape.[15]

Still a sitting member of the Assembly, it was alleged in April 2017 that Kumar had been voicing support for a BJP candidate in the then municipal council election campaign. The BJP distance themselves from the story, claiming that it was an attempt by the AAP to smear them.[16]

See also

References
  1. संदीप कुमार : गांव सरगथल अब मंत्री बने
  2. "Latest Gohana News 16/02/2015: महिला एवं बाल विकास की सोनीपत को जिम्मेदारी". www.bhaskar.com. 16 February 2015. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  3. "Sandeep Kumar Affidavit" (PDF). myneta.info. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  4. "Arvind Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party cabinet: 'Giant killer' Sandeep Kumar gets ministerial berth". Financial Express. Press Trust of India. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  5. "Assembly Elections December 2013 Results". Election Commission of India.
  6. Assembly Elections 2015 Results, Election Commission of India Archived 10 February 2015 at the Wayback Machine
  7. "Amazing stats from Delhi polls: 55 AAP MLAs won with more than 50% vote share". Firstpost. 12 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  8. "Arvind Kejriwal to keep finance, power in AAP govt; Manish Sisodia to retain portfolios". Indian Express. 13 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  9. "Delhi CM Kejriwal Not to Keep Any Portfolio". Outlook. 14 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  10. "Delhi elections 2015: AAP cabinet youngest in the country". Times of India. 15 February 2015. Retrieved 17 February 2015.
  11. "Kejriwal removes Cabinet Minister Sandeep Kumar after receiving 'objectionable CD'". The Indian Express. 31 August 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  12. "Sex CD scandal: Sacked AAP minister Sandeep Kumar arrested". The Times of India. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  13. "AAP suspends Sandeep Kumar's primary membership over alleged sex scandal". First Post. PTI. 3 September 2016. Retrieved 4 September 2016.
  14. http://www.firstpost.com/politics/sacked-aap-mla-sandeep-kumar-sent-to-14-day-judicial-custody-2997938.html
  15. Khan, Aamir (8 November 2016). "Rape allegations: Sacked AAP MLA Sandeep Kumar gets bail after judge watches footage". Indian Express. Retrieved 29 January 2018.
  16. "MCD polls 2017: Sacked AAP minister Sandeep Kumar triggers row by 'campaigning' for BJP". Financial Express. PTI. 18 April 2017. Retrieved 29 January 2018.


State Legislative Assembly
Preceded by
?		 Member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly
from Sultan Pur Majra (Vidhan Sabha constituency)
2020–		 Incumbent


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