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
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
In office 28 December 2013 – 8 February 2025
Preceded by	Sheila Dikshit
Succeeded by	Parvesh Verma
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 57) 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 (BTech)
Profession	Politician activist bureaucrat
Known for	India Against Corruption Jan Lokpal Bill
Awards	Ramon Magsaysay Award

Arvind Kejriwal (born 16 August 1968) is an Indian politician and activist. He was the 7th Chief Minister of Delhi, serving from 2013 to 2014 and again from 2015 to 2024. He is also the national leader of the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) since 2012. He represented the New Delhi area in the Delhi Legislative Assembly from 2015 to 2025, and earlier from 2013 to 2014.

In 2006, Kejriwal received the Ramon Magsaysay Award. This award recognized his work with the Parivartan movement. This movement used the Right to Information law to fight against government corruption. After leaving government service, he started the Public Cause Research Foundation to promote honest governance. Before becoming a politician, Kejriwal worked in the Indian Revenue Service and was a mechanical engineer.

In 2012, he started the AAP. He became Chief Minister of Delhi in 2013 but resigned 49 days later. This happened because he couldn't get enough support for his proposed anti-corruption law. In the 2015 Delhi Legislative Assembly elections, the AAP won a huge majority. They won again in the 2020 elections, and Kejriwal became Chief Minister for the third time. His party also won a big election in Punjab in 2022.

On 21 March 2024, he was arrested in connection with a case. 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. Kejriwal returned to Tihar Jail on 2 June 2024 after his temporary release ended. On 13 September 2024, the Supreme Court granted him bail with certain rules, and the case is still ongoing. On 17 September 2024, he resigned as Delhi Chief Minister. He stated he would only become Chief Minister again if the public voted for him.

His party lost many seats in the 2025 Delhi Legislative Assembly election. Kejriwal himself lost his seat in the New Delhi Assembly constituency by over 4,000 votes.

Early Life and Education

Arvind Kejriwal was born on 16 August 1968, in Siwani, Haryana, India. He is the first of three children of Gobind Ram Kejriwal and Gita Devi. His father was an electrical engineer. Kejriwal spent his childhood in towns like Sonipat, Ghaziabad, and Hisar. He went to Campus School in Hisar and Holy Child School in Sonipat.

In 1985, he passed the IIT-JEE exam, which is for engineering colleges. He then studied mechanical engineering at Indian Institute of Technology Kharagpur. After graduating, he worked at Tata Steel in Jamshedpur from 1989 to 1992. He then took a break to prepare for the Civil Services Examination. During this time, he volunteered with Mother Teresa's Missionaries of Charity in Calcutta (now Kolkata) and at the Ramakrishna Mission in North-East India.

Career Path

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 job as Joint Commissioner of Income Tax in New Delhi.

In 2012, Arvind Kejriwal started the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP). The party's main goals were to fight corruption and improve how the government works. The AAP did well in the 2013 election. However, his first government lasted only 49 days. In 2015, Kejriwal won a big victory. His government focused on education, healthcare, and welfare. He was re-elected in 2020, showing his strong leadership in Delhi. He has been the main national leader of AAP since 2012.

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." A month later, in January 2000, Kejriwal took time off from his job to focus on Parivartan.

Parivartan helped people with problems related to public services, like getting food supplies or electricity. It was a "people's movement" that ran on donations. Later, in 2005, Kejriwal and Manish Sisodia started Kabir, another group. Kabir also focused on the Right to Information (RTI) and involving people in government decisions.

In 2000, Parivartan asked for more openness in the Income Tax department. They also 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 works projects. They held a public meeting where citizens questioned officials about the lack of development.

In 2003, Parivartan uncovered a scam where dealers were stealing subsidized food grains. In 2004, Parivartan used RTI to learn 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 that received cheap public land to admit over 700 poor children for free.

Kejriwal became known for his work in the campaign for a national Right to Information Act, which became law in 2005. He resigned from his job in February 2006. Later that year, he received the Ramon Magsaysay Award for his work with Parivartan. The award recognized him for helping ordinary people use the RTI law to fight corruption in New Delhi.

Public Cause Research Foundation

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

Jan Lokpal Movement

In 2011, Kejriwal joined other activists like Anna Hazare to form the India Against Corruption (IAC) group. This group demanded a strong anti-corruption law called the Jan Lokpal Bill. This law would create an independent body, an "ombudsman," to investigate corruption. The campaign grew into a large 2011 Indian anti-corruption movement.

The government created a committee to draft the Jan Lokpal Bill. Kejriwal was part of this committee. However, he felt that the activists' suggestions were not being taken seriously. The IAC activists increased their protests, and Anna Hazare went on a hunger strike. Kejriwal and others were detained for protesting. In August 2011, the government and activists reached an agreement.

Some people criticized the Jan Lokpal movement. They said it was undemocratic because the ombudsman would have power over elected officials. There were also claims that the movement was funded by foreign groups, but Kejriwal and the Ford Foundation, which had given money for RTI campaigns, said these claims were false.

By January 2012, the government had not fully kept its promise to pass a strong Jan Lokpal law. This led to more protests, though with fewer people. By mid-2012, Kejriwal became the main leader of the remaining protestors. In January 2014, Kejriwal said he would resign from the government if the Jan Lokpal Bill was not passed. In 2015, during the AAP government's second term in Delhi, the Jan Lokpal Bill was passed by the assembly. It is now waiting for the president's approval.

Leader of the Aam Aadmi Party

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

One criticism of the Jan Lokpal activists was that they had no right to tell elected officials 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, which means he is its main leader. The party's name, "Aam Aadmi," means "common man," showing that Kejriwal 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 as Chief Minister

In the 2013 Delhi Legislative Assembly elections, the Bharatiya Janata Party won 31 seats, and the Aam Aadmi Party won 28 seats out of 70. Kejriwal defeated the Chief Minister, Sheila Dikshit, in her own area by a large number of votes.

The AAP formed a 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 of Delhi. He was in charge of several important government departments.

On 14 February 2014, he resigned as Chief Minister. This happened because he could not get the Jan Lokpal Bill passed in the Delhi Assembly. He said that other parties were stopping the anti-corruption law. He later said in April 2014 that he had made a mistake by resigning without explaining his reasons clearly to the public.

Second Term as Chief Minister

Kejriwal's Aam Aadmi Party won a huge victory in the 2015 Delhi Assembly elections. They won 67 out of 70 seats, while other parties won very few. Kejriwal was re-elected from his area. He took his oath as Chief Minister for the second time on 14 February 2015. Since then, his party has passed the Jan Lokpal Bill, though with some changes.

During his second term, there were disagreements between Kejriwal's office and the Lieutenant-Governor of Delhi. These disagreements were about which office had the final say on different government matters.

The AAP government started Mohalla Clinics, which are local health centers in Delhi. By 2018, 187 such clinics were open, helping over 2 million people. 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 rides for women on public buses.

Third Term as Chief Minister

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 matched the record of Sheila Dikshit.

On 21 March 2024, he was arrested in connection with a case. He was the first Chief Minister in India to be arrested while still in office. After being released temporarily by the Supreme Court, he resigned from the post of Chief Minister on 17 September 2024. AAP then named Atishi Marlena as his replacement.

COVID-19 Response

During the COVID-19 pandemic in April 2021, some groups said that the Kejriwal government spent a lot on advertisements. They claimed the government did not do enough to increase oxygen storage or build new oxygen plants. A committee appointed by the central government also said that the Delhi government used state money for ads that promoted Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal and his party.

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

In July 2022, a Supreme Court-appointed group said that the Delhi government had stated its oxygen needs were four times higher than they actually were during the second wave of the pandemic.

Attack on Residence

On 30 March 2022, a group of protestors attacked the official home of Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal. Deputy Chief Minister Manish Sisodia said the incident was part of a plan.

An AAP politician asked the Delhi High Court to investigate the attack. The petition claimed that the attack seemed to happen with the police's "quiet agreement." It said that the attackers broke through security, damaged property, and vandalized the home while police did not stop them.

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 to control the crowd. It asked the Delhi Police for a report on their investigation.

2024 Arrest and Release

Arvind Kejriwal was arrested on 21 March 2024 in connection with a case. This made him the first Chief Minister in India to be arrested while still in office. The Delhi High Court rejected his requests to be released on bail. The Supreme Court later granted him temporary release from 10 May 2024 to 1 June 2024 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 and extended his time in custody. On 20 June 2024, a trial court granted him bail. However, his release was put on hold because the Enforcement Directorate appealed against it. Kejriwal was then questioned by the Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) for three days and arrested by them on 26 June 2024 from Tihar Jail in the same case. He was sent back to custody until 12 July.

On 12 July 2024, the Supreme Court granted him temporary bail in the money laundering case. However, he remained in jail due to the CBI arrest from the previous month. On 5 September 2024, the Supreme Court made a decision on his bail in the CBI case. The decision was announced on 13 September 2024, granting him bail. This led to his release from Tihar Jail after being in prison for more than five months.

Election Results

Lok Sabha Elections

Delhi Legislative Assembly Elections

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 groups, like the panchayat, should be involved in local decisions and budgets. 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, who was also an IRS officer. She retired voluntarily in 2016.

The couple has a daughter and a son. Kejriwal follows Hinduism. He is a vegetarian and has practiced Vipassanā meditation for many years. He has diabetic. In 2016, he had surgery for a cough problem.

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 anti-corruption protests in India. It also covers the creation and rise to power of the Aam Aadmi Party and Arvind Kejriwal.

Kejriwal has appeared on news channels for interviews. He also appeared in a comedy show called Barely Speaking With Arnub. In this show, an actor pretended to be him, and Kejriwal sat next to him. He also appeared in a YouTube interview series called Shut Up Ya Kunal.

See also

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