Delhi Election 2025: From Arvind Kejriwal To Awadh Ojha, Educational Qualification of Top Candidates – News18

Last Updated:January 28, 2025, 20:54 IST

Delhi Assembly Election 2025: Among the top contenders are Arvind Kejriwal, an IIT KGP graduate who will be facing Sandeep Dikshit, a History graduate from DU’s St Stephen’s College and the son of former CM, Sheila Dikshit

Delhi Election Candidates Profile: The Delhi Assembly election voting is scheduled to take place in a single phase on February 5, 2025. The counting of votes for the total of 70 seats is set for February 8, 2025. While the AAP government is aiming for a fourth consecutive term, the BJP has been out of power in Delhi for 27 years and Congress failed to win a single seat in the 2015 and 2020 elections.

Let’s take a look at the educational qualifications of some of the top candidates:

Arvind Kejriwal: Born on August 16, 1968, to an upper-middle-class family in Siwani, Haryana, Kejriwal received his education at the Campus School at Hisar and Holy Child School at Sonipat. He cracked the IIT-JEE exam in 1985 and scored an All India Rank (AIR) of 563. He then went on to graduate from IIT Kharagpur in Mechanical Engineering and in 1989, Kejriwal joined Tata Steel in Jamshedpur. In 1992, he resigned from the job citing to prepare for the UPSC Civil Services Examination. In 1995, Arvind Kejriwal joined the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) after clearing UPSC and served as an Assistant Commissioner of the Income Tax Department. However, he resigned in 2006 and established the Public Cause Research Foundation. Kejriwal rose to popularity in 2010 when he associated himself with the prominent social activist Anna Hazare while campaigning for the passing of the Jan Lokpal bill. Following differences with Anna Hazare regarding whether or not to politicize the popular India Against Corruption movement, he established the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

Parvesh Verma: Born on November 7, 1977, Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Parvesh Sahib Singh Verma son of former Delhi chief minister Sahib Singh Verma. He studied at Kirori Mal College of the Delhi University (DU) followed by a degree in Master of Business Administration from the Fore School of Management. He had served two terms as an MP for West Delhi as a member of BJP. In 2014 he was elected to the 16th Lok Sabha and re-elected in 2019 for the 17th Lok Sabha.

Sandeep Dikshit: The son of Delhi’s former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, he will contest the Delhi Assembly elections 2025 on a Congress ticket. Born on August 15, 1964, Dikshit completed his BA (Hons) in History from St Stephen’s College in 1985 followed by a Master’s degree in History and a Post Graduate Diploma in Rural Management from the Institute for Rural Management in Gujarat. Dikshit was first elected to the Lok Sabha in 2004, and he retained the seat for another term in 2009. Dixit will take on Arvind Kejriwal, who defeated Sheila Dikshit from the seat in 2013 and 2015.

Manish Sisodia: Sisodia holds a diploma in journalism from Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan and worked as a journalist from 1996 to 2005. However, he later quit his job to take part in the agitation for the Right to Information (RTI). He also played a significant role in laying the foundation for the Jan Lokpal movement, led by Anna Hazare. In 2006, Sisodia founded the Public Cause Research Foundation along with Kejriwal. He was also among the founding members of AAP.

Ramesh Bidhuri: Born on July 18, 1961, Bidhuri studied at Shaheed Bhagat Singh College of the Delhi University (DU), where he became active in student politics. He was elected as the central councillor of his college, and later a councillor to the executive council of DU. A Delhi High Court advocate by profession, Bidhuri has served three terms as Delhi legislative Assembly member from the Tughlakabad constituency.

Atishi: She completed her school education at Springdales School, New Delhi. She completed her Master’s degree in History from DU’s St Stephen’s College and a postgraduate degree at Oxford University on a Chevening Scholarship.

Awadh Ojha: Born on July 3, 1984, Ojha completed his graduation at Fatima Inter College in Gonda, UP. He aspired to become an IAS officer from childhood and his father sold land to fund his education in Delhi. He prepared hard and cleared the prelims exam but fluked in the mains. The 40-year-old is now a UPSC coach and educator and is popularly known as Ojha sir among the UPSC aspirants.