Delhi CM celebrates his 50th birthday today. Kejriwal has always been known for his unconventional kind of leadership. He launched Aam Admi Party in 2012. By 2015 they won massively in the assembly elections winning 67 out of 70 seats. Kejriwal twice became the Delhi CM in two years and has proposed various schemes like odd-even and free wi-fi in the capital.
Here’s a look at Arvind Kejriwal’s journey:
- Born on August 16, 1968, at Sivani in Haryana, about 150 km from Delhi, Kejriwal was the first of the three children of Gobind Ram Kejriwal and Gita Devi.
- A mechanical engineering graduate from IIT, Kharagpur, Kejriwal joined Tata Steel in the year 1989, but resigned in 1992 to study for the Civil Services Examination
- During this time, Kejriwal met Mother Teresa and volunteered with The Missionaries of Charity, Ramakrishna Mission, and also at Nehru Yuva Kendra Sangathan
- In the year 1995, Kejriwal joined the IRS as an Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax
- In 1999, while still in service with the IT department, Kejriwal, Sisodia and a few other people founded a movement named ‘Parivartan’ to address citizens’ issues related to Public Distribution System (PDS), public works, social welfare schemes, income tax and electricity
- In the year 2005, he and Manish Sisodia launched an NGO named Kabir which focused on RTI and participatory governance
- In 2001, Parivartan used the RTI act to help people get their work done in government departments
- His efforts in the enactment of the RTI Act to empower the poorest citizens of India won him the Ramon Magsaysay Award for Emergent Leadership in 2006
- In 2010, he protested against corruption in the Commonwealth Games and strongly advocated the appointment of public ombudsman — Lokpal at the Centre and Lokayuktas in the states
- In 2011, Kejriwal joined Anna Hazare and Kiran Bedi and formed India Against Corruption (IAC) group, which worked for the enactment of the Jan Lokpal Bill. He was also involved in the hunger strikes organised by Anna Hazare
- In November 2012, Kejriwal formally launched the Aam Aadmi Party
- In 2013, Kejriwal contested the Delhi Legislative Assembly election and became the CM of Delhi. He, however, resigned 49 days later
- On February 14, 2015, he again sworn-in as the Chief Minister for a second term.
