Kiran Walia: Congress (Hauz Khas)

Profession: Quit teaching to get into active politics. Walia taught Political Science at Laxmi Bai College... What poll revealed about Walia

Profession:

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Quit teaching to get into active politics. Walia taught Political Science at Laxmi Bai College.

Education: Graduated from LSR and did PG in Pol Science from DU.

Political career: In 1998, contested on Congress ticket against then CM Sushma Swaraj. “If it wasn't for the 'Namkeen' scandal—where 8,000 voters were prevented from voting because they were given bad 'prasada' and were unconscious on election day, I would have won," she said. Swaraj won but resigned later. "I won the by-poll," she said.

Family: “With a father who was in the company of Bhagat Singh, an aunt who was Delhi Congress chief and a mother who despite her broken leg, knit sweaters for soldiers in the 1965 war, I was bound to get into politics," she said. Her husband, a retd civil engineer, is very supportive. Her son is a financial consultant and her Switzerland-based daughter works part-time with UNICEF.

Cars: Drives an Opel Astra. Husband had a Maruti Esteem that he sold off recently.