Nafe Singh Rathee, the chief of the Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) in Haryana, was shot dead by unidentified attackers in Jhajjar district on Sunday. The incident occurred while Rathee was travelling in an SUV through Jhajjar’s Bahadurgarh town, where gunmen opened fire on the vehicle he was in.
Rathee, a prominent Jat leader from Jatwada village in Bahadurgarh, had previously served as an MLA from the same area. With about a 40-year association with the INLD party, he was a well-known figure in Haryana politics.
Rathi was elected twice as an MLA from his constituency, from 1996 to 2005, and played a significant role in shaping Haryana's legislative framework. On two separate occasions Rathee is also known to have served as the chairperson of the Bahadurgarh Municipal Council.
In 2014, Rathee made the switch to BJP after INLD denied him a ticket from Bahadurgarh. However BJP denied him a ticket too and he decided to contest independently. In 2018, he returned to INLD.
In 2020, he was appointed the President of the party's Haryana unit by the Senior INLD leader Abhay Singh Chautala, succeeding Birbal Das Dhalia.
