Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit will be leading the Congress election campaign for the third time during the Delhi assembly elections scheduled for November 29. 

 

Sheila Dikshit was born on March 31, 1938 in the Kapurthala district of Punjab. She studied at the Convent of Jesus and Mary School, did her graduation from Miranda House, and completed her post-graduation in History. 

 

She was born in a non-political family and was exposed to politics after she married IAS officer Vinod Dikshit, the son of former Union Minister and Governor Uma Shankar Dikshit. Her father-in-law Uma Shankar Dikshit was one of the trusted aides of Indira Gandhi. 

 

She was nominated as a member of the Indian delegation to the UN Commission on Status of Women and joined active politics after her husband Vinod Dikshit passed away in the early 1980s.

 

Sheila Dikshit was elected as a MP from Kannauj in UP in 1984. She was Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs and Minister of State in the PMO in the Rajiv Gandhi government. She led the Congress to victory in the Delhi assembly elections in 1998 and again 2003. 

 

She has focused on good governance and development and tried to provide Delhi with world-class infrastructure. She has used the concept of Bhagidari (partnership) with Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) to deal with problems like encroachment and pollution.