Arvind Kejriwal To Contest From New Delhi Seat: 5 Facts About AAP Leader

AAP's national convener and former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal will be contesting from the New Delhi constituency for the fourth time in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. 

Here are 5 facts on Arvind Kejriwal:

1. Arvind Kejriwal was born in Hisar, Haryana. He studied mechanical engineering at IIT Kharagpur. He worked at Tata Steel until 1992, then volunteered with Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata before joining the Indian Revenue Service in 1995, where he met his wife Sunita Agarwal.

2. In 1999, he founded Parivartan, an organisation addressing citizens' issues like public works, food rations, and electricity. In 2006, Mr Kejriwal won the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his work and resigned from the IRS. He used the award money to establish the Public Cause Research Foundation and later authored the book 'Swaraj' in 2012. Arvind Kejriwal joined the 2011 India Against Corruption (IAC) movement, led by Anna Hazare, to push for the Jan Lokpal Bill.

3. He launched the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on November 26, 2012, positioning it as a new alternative. With the broom as its symbol, the party pledged to sweep away corruption.

4. In 2013, AAP contested the Delhi elections and surprised many by winning 28 of 70 seats, becoming the second-largest party. Mr Kejriwal defeated three-time Congress chief minister Sheila Dikshit and formed a government with Congress' support, despite targeting them for corruption. After failing to pass the Delhi Jan Lokpal Bill and losing Congress' support, Mr Kejriwal resigned after just 49 days as chief minister. In the 2015 elections, AAP achieved a historic victory, winning 67 of 70 seats, and Mr Kejriwal returned as chief minister. The party repeated its success in 2020, securing 62 seats. Beyond Delhi, AAP expanded its influence, winning Punjab in 2022.

5. A month before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Arvind Kejriwal was arrested by the Enforcement Directorate (ED) over alleged corruption. The case involved a 2021 Delhi government policy that shifted liquor sales to private retailers. AAP leaders were accused of favouring certain retailers, accepting bribes and benefiting from kickbacks. The policy, scrapped in 2022, led to Mr Kejriwal's arrest after he skipped nine ED summons. The Supreme Court granted him bail on September 13 after which he resigned as chief minister. AAP leader Atishi was named as the new Chief Minister.