Arvind Kejriwal: a change agent

Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal is all set to take on BJP's prime ministerial candidate Narendra Modi by contesting the Lok Sabha poll from Varanasi. Kejriwal had defeated three-time Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in last winter’s Assembly polls. The AAP won 28 seats in Delhi polls, propelling him to the post of Chief Minister in the Capital.

His recent visit to Gujarat to challenge Modi’s development claims was aimed at preparing the ground for a major electoral battle.  

 

Kejriwal launched his political party on 2 October 2012, the 143rd birthday of Mahatma Gandhi. The AAP’s message — ‘give an honest party’ a chance — has struck a chord with an increasingly urban voters restless for a change. At present, Kejriwal has focused his attacks on Modi and the BJP, increasingly ignoring the Congress. The AAP wants to generate a perception that the Congress is not in a position to defeat the Gujarat Chief Minister. 

 

He cleared the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) examination on his first attempt and joined the mechanical engineering stream at IIT-Kharagpur in 1985. After graduating from IIT, Kejriwal took up a job with Tata Steel Ltd and was posted at the company’s Jamshedpur design plant in 1989.

After some time, Kejriwal cracked the civil service examination and was posted in the Indian Revenue Service. His first posting was in Delhi as an assistant tax commissioner.