Arvind Kejriwal facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Arvind Kejriwal
Official portrait, 2022
7th Chief Minister of Delhi
In office 14 February 2015 – 21 September 2024
Lieutenant Governor	Vinai Kumar Saxena Anil Baijal Najeeb Jung
Deputy	Manish Sisodia (till 28 February 2023)
Preceded by	President's rule
Succeeded by	Atishi Marlena Singh
In office 28 December 2013 – 14 February 2014
Lieutenant Governor	Najeeb Jung
Preceded by	Sheila Dikshit
Succeeded by	President's rule
Member of the Delhi Legislative Assembly
Incumbent
Assumed office 14 February 2015
Preceded by	President's rule
Constituency	New Delhi
In office 28 December 2013 – 14 February 2014
Preceded by	Sheila Dikshit
Succeeded by	President's rule
Constituency	New Delhi
National Convener of the Aam Aadmi Party
Incumbent
Assumed office 26 November 2012
Preceded by	position established
Personal details
Born	(1968-08-16) 16 August 1968 (age 56) Siwani, Haryana, India
Political party	Aam Aadmi Party
Spouse	Sunita Kejriwal ​ (m. 1995)​
Children	2
Residence	5, Ferozeshah Road, New Delhi
Alma mater	IIT Kharagpur (B.Tech in Mechanical Engineering)
Profession	Politician activist bureaucrat
Known for	India against Corruption Jan Lokpal Bill Activism Chief Minister of Delhi
Awards	Ramon Magsaysay Award

Arvind Kejriwal (born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician and activist. He used to be a government officer before entering politics. He served as the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi, which is like the head of the government for the city of Delhi.

He was the Chief Minister from 2013 to 2014 and again from 2015 to 2024. He is also the leader, or "National Convener," of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) since 2012. He has been a representative for the New Delhi Assembly constituency in the Delhi Legislative Assembly since 2015.

In 2006, Kejriwal received the Ramon Magsaysay Award. This award recognized his work with the Parivartan movement. He used the Right to Information law to fight against corruption in the government. After leaving government service, he started the Public Cause Research Foundation. This group worked to make the government more open and honest. Before becoming a politician, Kejriwal worked in the Indian Revenue Service, which deals with taxes. He studied mechanical engineering at IIT Kharagpur.

In 2012, he started the AAP political party. He became Chief Minister of Delhi in 2013 but resigned after 49 days. This was because he couldn't get enough support for his proposed anti-corruption law. In the 2015 and 2020 Delhi elections, his party won by a large margin. Kejriwal became Chief Minister for the third time in 2020. His party also won elections in Punjab in 2022.

On 21 March 2024, he was arrested. He was the first Chief Minister in India to be arrested while still in office. On 10 May, the Supreme Court allowed him to be released temporarily until 1 June 2024, so he could campaign for elections. He returned to jail on 2 June 2024. On 13 September 2024, the Supreme Court granted him bail with some conditions. He resigned as Delhi Chief Minister on 17 September 2024. He stated he would only become Chief Minister again if the public voted for him.

Early Life and Education

Arvind Kejriwal was born on 16 August 1968, in Siwani, Haryana, India. His father was an electrical engineer. Kejriwal spent his childhood in various towns in northern India. He went to Campus School in Hisar and Holy Child School in Sonipat.

In 1985, he took the IIT-JEE exam and got a high rank. He then studied mechanical engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. After graduating, he worked at Tata Steel for a short time. He later took a break to prepare for the Civil Services Examination. During this time, he volunteered with organizations like The Missionaries of Charity in Kolkata.

Career in Public Service and Politics

Arvind Kejriwal joined the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) in 1995. He worked as an Assistant Commissioner of Income Tax. In February 2006, he resigned from his government job.

In 2012, he started the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). This party won the 2013 Delhi Legislative Assembly election. Since 2012, he has been the main leader of the AAP.

Activism for Change

Parivartan and Kabir Movements

In December 1999, while still working for the Income Tax Department, Kejriwal and others started a movement called Parivartan. This word means "change." Kejriwal took a break from his job to focus on this work.

Parivartan helped people with problems related to public services. These included issues with food distribution, public works, and taxes. The group was not a registered organization. It relied on donations from individuals. Later, in 2005, Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia started another group called Kabir. This group also focused on the Right to Information (RTI) and involving people in government.

In 2000, Parivartan asked for more openness in the Income Tax department. They also protested outside the Chief Commissioner's office. Kejriwal and other activists helped people get their work done in government offices without paying bribes.

In 2001, the Delhi government passed a state-level Right To Information (RTI) Act. This law allowed citizens to see government records for a small fee. Parivartan used this law to help people. In 2002, the group found that money was misused in 64 out of 68 public projects. They held a public meeting where citizens questioned officials about the lack of development.

In 2003, Parivartan exposed a scam where dealers were stealing subsidized food grains. In 2004, they used RTI to get information about a project to privatize water supply. Kejriwal and other activists argued that this project would make water much more expensive for poor people. Their actions helped stop the project. Another campaign by Parivartan led to a court order. This order required private schools, which got land cheaply, to admit poor children for free.

Kejriwal became known for his work on the national Right to Information Act (passed in 2005). He received the Ramon Magsaysay Award in 2006 for his work with Parivartan. The award recognized him for helping ordinary people use the RTI law to fight corruption.

Public Cause Research Foundation

In December 2006, Kejriwal started the Public Cause Research Foundation. He used his Ramon Magsaysay Award money to help start it. This foundation helped pay the people working for Parivartan. Kejriwal used the RTI Act to expose corruption in many government departments.

Jan Lokpal Movement

In 2010, Kejriwal protested against corruption in the Commonwealth Games. He believed that existing anti-corruption bodies were not strong enough. He suggested creating a powerful public ombudsman, called the Lokpal, to investigate corruption.

In 2011, Kejriwal joined other activists like Anna Hazare to form the India Against Corruption (IAC) group. This group demanded a strong Jan Lokpal Bill. This bill would create an independent body to fight corruption. The campaign grew into a large 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement. The government drafted a bill, but activists felt it wasn't strong enough. They wanted the Lokpal to have more power to act against corrupt officials, including the Prime Minister.

Kejriwal was part of a committee to draft the Jan Lokpal Bill. However, he felt that the government members were not listening to the activists' ideas. He argued that elected leaders should not act like dictators. The IAC activists continued their protests, and Anna Hazare went on a hunger strike. Kejriwal and others were arrested during these protests.

In August 2011, the government and activists reached an agreement. However, by January 2012, the government had not fully kept its promise. This led to more protests, though with fewer people. By mid-2012, Kejriwal became the main face of the remaining protests. In 2015, during his second term as Chief Minister, the Jan Lokpal Bill was passed by the Delhi assembly.

National Convener of AAP

Kejriwal during the launch of AAP in Bangalore, in July 2013

Many people criticized the Jan Lokpal activists for telling elected leaders what to do. Because of this, Kejriwal and other activists decided to enter politics. In November 2012, they officially launched the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). Kejriwal was chosen as the party's National Convener. The party's name, "Aam Aadmi," means "common man," showing that they wanted to represent ordinary people.

The AAP decided to run in the 2013 Delhi Legislative Assembly election. Kejriwal ran against the Chief Minister at the time, Sheila Dikshit.

Chief Minister of Delhi

First Term

In the 2013 Delhi elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 31 seats, and the Aam Aadmi Party won 28 seats. Kejriwal defeated the sitting Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, in her own constituency.

The AAP formed a minority government with support from other parties. Kejriwal became the Chief Minister of Delhi on 28 December 2013. He was one of the youngest Chief Ministers in Delhi's history. He was in charge of several important government departments.

On 14 February 2014, he resigned as Chief Minister. This was because he could not get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed in the Delhi Assembly. He later said that resigning without fully explaining his reasons to the public was a mistake.

Second Term

Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party won a huge victory in the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections. They won 67 out of 70 seats. Kejriwal was re-elected from the New Delhi constituency. He took his oath as Chief Minister for the second time on 14 February 2015. His party then passed the Jan Lokpal Bill.

During his second term, there was a long disagreement between Kejriwal's office and the Lieutenant Governor of Delhi. This was about which office had the final say on different government matters.

The AAP government started Mohalla Clinics, which are local health centers in Delhi. These clinics offer basic health services, medicines, and tests for free. They help people get timely care and reduce the burden on bigger hospitals. In October 2019, Delhi also started offering free bus travel for women.

Third Term

The AAP won 62 out of 70 seats in the 2020 Delhi Legislative Assembly election. Kejriwal took his oath as Chief Minister for the third time on 16 February 2020. This tied the record of Sheila Dikshit.

On 21 March 2024, he became the first Chief Minister in India to be arrested while still in office. After being released temporarily by the Supreme Court, he announced he would resign as Chief Minister on 15 September 2024. He formally resigned on 17 September 2024. The AAP then named Atishi Marlena as his replacement.

COVID-19 Management

During the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2021, some groups criticized the Kejriwal government. They said the government spent a lot on advertisements but did not increase oxygen storage or build new oxygen plants. A government committee also criticized the AAP for using state funds for ads that promoted Chief Minister Kejriwal and his party.

It was found that money was set aside in December 2020 to build eight oxygen plants. However, only one plant was finished. The remaining money was reportedly used for advertising. During the oxygen shortage in 2021, the central government increased oxygen supply for Delhi. Kejriwal publicly thanked the central government for this help.

In July 2022, a Supreme Court-appointed group said that the Delhi government had asked for four times more oxygen than it actually needed during the second wave of the pandemic.

Attack on Chief Minister's House

On 30 March 2022, a group of people attacked the official home of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. His deputy, Manish Sisodia, said this was part of a plan against Kejriwal.

An AAP politician asked the Delhi High Court to investigate the attack. The petition claimed that the police did not do enough to stop the attackers. It said that the attackers broke through security, damaged property, and vandalized the home.

On 31 March 2022, eight people involved in the attack were arrested. The Delhi High Court noted that the security at the Chief Minister's home was not enough. It asked the Delhi Police for a report on their investigation.

2024 Arrest

After not appearing for several official requests, Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on 21 March 2024. This happened after the Delhi High Court did not grant him protection from arrest. He became the first Chief Minister in India to be arrested while still holding office. The Delhi High Court rejected his requests to be released. The Supreme Court later granted him temporary release from 10 May 2024 to 1 June 2024. This was so he could campaign for elections.

After his temporary release ended, Kejriwal returned to Tihar Jail on 2 June. A Delhi court denied his request for more temporary release. On 20 June 2024, a court granted him bail. However, his release was stopped because another agency appealed against it. Kejriwal was questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) and arrested again on 26 June 2024. He was sent back to jail.

On 12 July 2024, the Supreme Court granted him temporary bail in one case. However, he stayed in jail because of the CBI arrest. On 13 September 2024, the Supreme Court granted him bail in the CBI case. This led to his release from Tihar Jail after being in prison for more than five months.

Electoral Performance

New Delhi Assembly constituency New Delhi Assembly constituency

New Delhi Assembly constituency

Varanasi Lok Sabha constituency

Political Ideas

Kejriwal shared his thoughts on corruption and Indian democracy in his book Swaraj. He believes that government power should be spread out more. He thinks local councils, called panchayats, should have more say in local decisions and money matters. He also feels that large international companies have too much influence on the central government. He argues that politicians are not held responsible enough for their actions after they are elected.

Personal Life

In 1995, Kejriwal married Sunita. She was also a government officer. They have a daughter and a son. Kejriwal follows Hinduism and is a vegetarian. He has practiced Vipassanā meditation for many years. He has diabetes. In 2016, he had surgery for a persistent cough.

Kejriwal considers himself a follower of B. R. Ambedkar, a very important Indian leader.

In the Media

An Insignificant Man is a 2017 documentary film. It is about the rise of the 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement and the Aam Aadmi Party. The film also shows Arvind Kejriwal's journey. The filmmakers had to fight a long legal battle to get the film released in India. They eventually won, and the film was shown without any cuts.

Kejriwal has appeared on news channels for interviews. He also appeared in a comedy show called Barely Speaking With Arnub. He was also featured in a YouTube interview series called Shut Up Ya Kunal.

See Also

• Fifth Legislative Assembly of Delhi
• 2017 Punjab Legislative Assembly election