New Delhi:
On Saturday, Rakhi Birla, 26, will become the youngest minister in Delhi's 20-year history as a state. The former TV journalist is one of the 28 candidates of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) to have won the recent elections in the capital. She defeated former minister and senior Congress leader Raj Kumar Chauhan by over 10,000 votes.
Here is her account of her new career as a politician, as told to NDTV's Tanima Biswas:
I did not decide to join politics. This is not a political party. This is a revolution. I realized that to remove corruption one has to join the system, become a part of the system. So I joined.
You know as a journalist we have to make people aware of things. It was as a journalist that I had gone to cover Anna Hazare's movement against corruption in Delhi. After listening to him for days, I got influenced by his views. I also thought in order to bring the Jan Lokpal Bill and to rid society of corruption, one has to fight the election and form a party. So on 26/11/12, our party was formed. And I joined as a volunteer.
My parents supported me a lot. That's why I am here. I also collected funds from my constituency. After all, I am working for the people. If I am working for them, I don't think there is any shame in collecting money from the people.
Now, as a representative of the people, of course the responsibilities are more. I have to fulfill promises made to the people, who have shown faith in me. I have to work for them now, not my career. The biggest challenge ahead is to prove myself worthy of their trust
But I come from a freedom fighter's family. So actually all this is not new. From childhood, I have seen people come home with their problems to my father. Now from the father, focus has shifted to the daughter (laughs).
I feel proud to be a 'revolutionary' of sorts, helping people.
I believe my party stands for patriotism, honesty and the truth.