Manish Sisodia
Manish Sisodia, the man Friday of Arvind Kejriwal, came to prominence during Anna Hazare's movement for Jan Lokpal Bill in 2011. The 41-year-old is also part of AAP's central working committee and it came as no surprise that he was selected in Kejriwal's Cabinet.
He has been given charge of Education, PWD, Urban Development, Local Bodies and Land and Building departments. The journalist-turned-activist-turned-politician defeated BJP's Nakul Bhardwaj by over 11,000 votes from Patparganj constituency in East Delhi. Sisodia had worked as a journalist with Zee News and All India Radio for a long time. He later quit journalism to participate in the agitation for Right To Information.
He was one of the founding members of the Janlokpal agitation and part of the team which chalked out its first draft. When Anna Hazare was arrested and sent to jail during the agitation, he too was sent to prison.
Sisodia also sat on fast for 10 days demanding setting up of an SIT to probe cases against corrupt Union ministers. Sisodia had declared assets worth Rs 41,83,942 in his election affidavit. He has a diploma in journalism from Bhartiya Vidya Bhawan.
Next page: Somanth Bharti
Somanth Bharti
A lawyer-turned activist with an IIT degree to boot, Somanth Bharti breached a Congress bastion by wresting power from three-time sitting MLA and high-profile former Delhi minister Kiran Walia from crucial Malviya Nagar constituency in South Delhi.
After earning a Masters degree from the Indian Institute of Technology and a degree in law later, Bharti pursued a legal career. As a lawyer, he fought for social causes through his profession and dragged issues dealing with societal matters to the court to bring them to justice. An active member during Jan Lokpal movement, this IIT alumnus fought for justice for the innocent masses.
"After the Delhi gang-rape case, Delhi Police tried to falsely convict around eight innocent young boys, and Bharti fought for those boys and helped them get justice," the AAP party website said. Walia, an MA in political science from the Lady Shri Ram College here, held the Social Welfare portfolio in the previous Delhi government. She was upstaged by this first-timer whose one-year-old party fought the election on "pro-people, anti-corruption" poll plank.
Bharti, who has also served as a president of an IIT-alumni association, took oath as a cabinet minister at the historic Ramlila Maidan, the venue of anti-graft crusader Anna Hazare rallies, whose demands for passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill thrusted Kejriwal into national prominence before he took a plunge in mainstream politics.
Next page: Girish Soni
Girish Soni
One of the two Dalit faces in Arvind Kejriwal's young cabinet, Girish Soni with his tireless contribution to Aam Aadmi Party's 'Bijli-Pani' agitation has come a long way from the youth who had to give up on his higher studies owing to financial problems.
The 49-year-old MLA from Madipur nudged out BJP's candidate Kailash Sankla by a little over 1,100 votes to emerge victorious in the Delhi Assembly polls that witnessed AAP's stunning political debut. Soni, who had been associated with Bharat Naujawan Sabha in 1980, was also the general secretary of the party in his constituency. He had tirelessly participated in AAP's 'Bijli-Pani' agitation and motivated people to join as well.
The AAP leader did his primary and high schooling from Madipur but owing to financial problem was unable to pursue higher education. So, instead he opted for a diploma course in air-conditioning and refrigeration from the Industrial Training Institute (ITI) Pusa in Delhi. Inspired by his father from an early age, Soni whose family sustained on a small leather business will now seek to be an inspiration for the lesser fortunate.
Next page: Saurabh Bhardwaj
Saurabh Bhardwaj
An engineer by profession, Saurabh Bhardwaj pulled off an upset in the high-profile Greater Kailash constituency by defeating scion of a veteran BJP leader and has now earned a top place for himself in the new government. 34-year-old Bhardwaj fought the elections in the BJP-stronghold and defeated Ajay Kumar Malhotra, son of the outgoing Leader of the Opposition in the Assembly V K Malhotra by more than 13,000 votes in the decisive South Delhi constituency.
It was the rape of a poor girl that had shaken Bhardwaj and he had decided to fight for justice for the people. During this period he also figured that to provide justice in these matters, it was imperative to have legal knowledge. "Bhardwaj was working in a private firm when in 2005 a horrendous incidence of rape happened with a poor girl... He studied law and regularly helps the poor in giving them all legal help possible," the AAP party website said. He constantly raises his voice for the blind, poor students, flood affected and the old, it said.
Next page: Satyendra Jain
Satyendra Jain
Satyendra Kumar Jain, an architect by profession, quit his job with Central Public Works Department (CPWD) due to prevailing corruption in the Department and turned to politics. An MLA from Shakur Basti, 49-year-old Jain defeated BJP's Shyam Lal Garg by a margin of 7,062 votes. Jain has been allocated the Health and Industries Department in the Kejriwal-led Delhi government.
Jain had actively participated in the Anna Hazare's Jan Lokpal movement where he came in touch with Arvind Kejriwal. Jain, a well known social worker, helped Chitrakoot based social organisation Drishti, working for visually impaired girls, with construction of the orgaisation's building.
He is also associated with social organisation Sparsh, which works for mentally challenged children. He also organises mass marriages for poor girls. A native of Baghpat in Uttar Pradesh, Jain, who lives in Saraswati Vihar in a joint family, starts his day at 6.30 AM meeting people and listening to their problems.
Next page: Rakhi Birla
Rakhi Birla
At an age when most youngsters struggle to find their feet, 26-year-old Rakhi Birla is not just the youngest minister in Arvind Kejriwal's cabinet, but also its only woman face. Birla had emerged as a giant killer after thumping four-time MLA and PWD Minister Raj Kumar Chauhan in the Sheila Dikshit government in Mangolpuri by around 10,500 votes. Before joining AAP, Birla had worked with a private news channel.
She had also been working in collaboration with social organisations for the cause of the Valmiki community. Birla hails from the Valmiki community and her father was associated with the Congress for a long time but quit the party in 2011 during the Janlokpal movement. She was born in Delhi to Sheila and Bhupendra Singh Bidhlan and is the youngest of their four daughters.
Birla's last name which reminds you of one of India's business families, got actually stuck with her after her school teacher made a mistake while preparing her Class X certificate and wrote Birla instead of Bidhlan, which is her actual surname.
Birla had declared assets worth Rs 51,150 in her election affidavit. Her family has been related to social work since the last four generations, from her great-grandfather and then grandfather who was part of India's freedom struggle. Coming from a modest background, Birla always dreamt big.
After graduating from Delhi University's Shivaji College, she did her masters in mass communication and joined a local television channel as a reporter.
During her stint as journalist, Birla covered the Janlokpal movement and came in contact of India Against Corruption and Arvind Kejriwal. When AAP was formed, Birla joined AAP and fought elections from her home turf, where she registered one of the biggest upset of these elections by thumping Chauhan who was considered invincible from the reserved constituency.
