Meet Sunita Kejriwal, The Woman Behind Arvind Kejriwal’s Current Success

Sunita Kejriwal is not just Arvind Kejriwal’s wife, but the strength and support behind his current success, as he has openly acknowledged.

The adage, “Behind every successful man lies a woman” is well-known to everyone of us. However, we only pay lip service to this notion. Rarely do we truly appreciate the effort, sacrifices made or indeed, the courage, of the woman behind the man!

The recent Delhi assembly elections saw Arvind Kejriwal rising to become Chief Minister once again, with voters giving the AAP a massive victory. The fact that the AAP won 63 out of 70 seats only re-emphasizes his ability to handle the job.

11^th February, the date on which the AAP swept the polls, also happens to be her birthday! The AAP office saw celebrations for the poll victory as well Sunita Kejriwal’s 54^th birthday, as the party considered her their ‘lucky charm’. Behind the victory, however, lies not just ‘luck’, but many years of hard work, during which she has worked not just as a wife and mother supporting her family, but also as a party worker.

The Arvind-Sunita story

Most of us know that prior to joining politics, Arvind Kejriwal served as a bureaucrat in the IRS, but not many are aware that his wife was an IRS employee as well. They met in Mussoorie during their IAS training. After a friendship that lasted for many years, they tied the knot in 1994. The couple has two children, Harshita and Pulkit Kejriwal.

Sunita says in an interview that Arvind shared his passion for social service with her, when they were about to get married. She was gladdened by the thought that a man with such a passion to get involved with society would have a character of spotless integrity. She believes that they have stayed together for 25 years because their world views accord with each other.

She also reveals that while Kejriwal worked hard in the IRS, his heart was not really in it. From 2000-2010 therefore, he began setting aside time for social engagement, beginning with the corruption in the system that had also plagued his life as a bureaucrat.

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Quitting her job as an IRS officer

Sunita continued as an IRS officer even after Arvind Kejriwal first became the CM of Delhi, but after a while quit to actively and publicly help him in his fight against corruption and at the same time, take care of the home front – her husband had suddenly come into a lot of public responsibility! It says a lot about Sunita’s support and hard work that their children are both doing well at IIT today.

Sunita Kejriwal’s active involvement in politics increased after the formation of AAP, despite her being a bit hesitant about stepping into it herself, even participating with their kids in the door-to-door campaigning in the 2020 elections.

Sunita has said that the AAP victory is one of the best ‘birthday gifts’ that she has ever received, a victory of truth over lies. Arvind Kejriwal too has openly acknowledged her hard work and support through all these years, thanking her for it publicly.

It was, certainly a victory that has been achieved with equal contribution from both husband and wife. Simple, soft-spoken Sunita Kejriwal has proven to be a strong, solid support to her husband in his journey. We wish her a happy 54th birthday too!

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