Ajay Maken (born 12 January 1964) is a politician from the

Indian National Congress The Indian National Congress (INC), colloquially the Congress Party but often simply the Congress, is a political party in India with widespread roots. Founded in 1885, it was the first modern nationalist movement to emerge in the British E ...

party. He is the general secretary of the

All India Congress Committee The All India Congress Committee (AICC) is the presidium or the central decision-making assembly of the Indian National Congress. It is composed of members elected from state-level Pradesh Congress Committees and can have as many as a thousan ...

(AICC) and member of the

Congress Working Committee The Congress Working Committee (CWC) is the executive committee of the Indian National Congress. It was formed in December 1920 at Nagpur session of INC which was headed by C. Vijayaraghavachariar. It typically consists of fifteen members electe ...

(CWC). He was formerly a minister in the Indian Cabinet of Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh and a minister in the Cabinet of Delhi Chief Minister

Sheila Dikshit Sheila Dikshit () (née Kapoor; 31 March 1938 – 20 July 2019) was an Indian politician. The longest-serving Chief Minister of Delhi, as well as the longest-serving female chief minister of any Indian state, she served for a period of 15 ye ...

. He was twice elected as a Member of the

Parliament of India The Parliament of India ( IAST: ) is the supreme legislative body of the Republic of India. It is a bicameral legislature composed of the president of India and two houses: the Rajya Sabha (Council of States) and the Lok Sabha (House of the ...

, and three times to the

Delhi Legislative Assembly The Delhi Legislative Assembly, also known as the Delhi Vidhan Sabha, is a unicameral legislature of the union territory of Delhi in India. Delhi Legislative Assembly is the legislative arm of the Government of Delhi. At present, it consists o ...

. He was the President of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee.

Political career

Maken has been a two-time Member of Parliament (Lok Sabha from 2004 to 2014) and three-time Member of Legislative Assembly of Delhi (from 1993 to 2004). At the National level, Maken was the youngest Union Cabinet Minister from the Congress Party for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (2012–13), Union Minister of State (Independent Charge) for Sports and Youth Affairs (2011–12), Union Minister of State for Home Affairs (2009–2011), Union Minister of State for Urban Development (2006–2007). At the State level, he was Speaker of Delhi Legislative Assembly (2003–04) at the age of 39, Maken was the youngest Speaker in the Country, a Cabinet Minister of Power, Transport and Tourism (2001-2003) at the age of 37, the youngest until that time and Parliamentary Secretary to the Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit (1998-2001). Maken was the first NSUI candidate in a direct election to be elected as the President of Delhi University Students Union (DUSU) in 1985, the first B.Sc. Chemistry (Hons.) final year student in this post.

Lok Sabha

In the 2004 general election, Maken represented the Congress for the New Delhi constituency. He defeated a sitting Cabinet Minister, Jagmohan, from the

Bharatiya Janata Party The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP; ; ) is a political party in India, and one of the two major Indian political parties alongside the Indian National Congress. Since 2014, it has been the ruling political party in India under Narendra Mod ...

. In the 2009 general elections, he retained the New Delhi Parliamentary constituency. He was appointed the Minister of State for Home Affairs. In 2011, Maken was appointed the Minister for Sports and Youth Affairs after the

2010 Commonwealth Games The 2010 Commonwealth Games (Hindi: 2010 राष्ट्रमण्डल खेल), officially known as the XIX Commonwealth Games and commonly known as Delhi 2010, was an international multi-sport event that was held in Delhi, India, ...

scam, replacing M. S. Gill as Sports Minister. He was appointed Minister for Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation (I/C) in 2012. Maken was defeated in the 2014 general elections by the BJP candidate Meenakshi Lekhi. He served as the Congress General Secretary until 2015, when he resigned after the party's failure to win any seat in the

2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly election The Delhi Legislative Assembly election was held on 7 February 2015 to elect 70 members of the Sixth Legislative Assembly of Delhi. The results were announced on 10 February 2015. The Aam Aadmi Party secured an absolute majority in the assembl ...

Personal life

Ajay Maken is married and has three children. He received his education in St. Xavier's School, Delhi.

Lalit Maken Lalit Maken was a Member of parliament, a political leader of Indian National Congress and a labour union leader. Maken was the son-in-law of late President of India, Shankar Dayal Sharma. In the year of 1984, he was elected to the Lok Sabha as ...

, Ajay Maken's uncle, was elected to Lok Sabha in 1984 but was assassinated in 1985 for his alleged role in the massacre of Sikhs in Delhi in November 1984.

References

External links

Official biographical sketch in Parliament of India website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Maken, Ajay 1964 births Living people Trade unionists from Delhi Indian National Congress politicians India MPs 2004–2009 India MPs 2009–2014 State cabinet ministers of Delhi Presidents of Delhi University Students Union Delhi University alumni Lok Sabha members from Delhi United Progressive Alliance candidates in the 2014 Indian general election Speakers of the Delhi Legislative Assembly Presidents of Delhi Pradesh Congress Committee