New Delhi: India's first woman IPS officer Kiran Bedi plunged into electoral politics joining the Bharatiya Janata Party as its chief ministerial candidate for Delhi Assembly elections but failed to create an impression in the national capital as her party faced the ignominy of not even winning 10% of the seats in the national capital.
With her party facing its worst-ever drubbing in Delhi failing to win even seven seats required for the Leader of Opposition post in the 70-member Delhi Assembly, Bedi, too, lost from Krishna Nagar to Aam Aadmi Party candidate SK Bagga.
Kiran Bedi's entry into politics has been nothing short of dramatic. After showing her disdain for politics for years, Bedi agreed to enter the race just weeks before Delhi went to polls.
In the past, Bedi had openly targeted Prime Minister Narendra Modi and had also asked him to apologise for the 2002 riots. "One day NaMo will need to respond with clarity about riots massacre. Despite Courts clearing him so far," she had once tweeted.
"Mr Modi as per SIT may b passing the legal exam but is yet to pass prevailing perception of serious incidents which occurred under his watch," she said in an another tweet.
However, just few days before Delhi elections she changed her stand on Modi and said that her opinions have changed about him. But the opposition parties declined to accept this argument and called her an opportunist.
Though Bedi promised not to indulge in personal attacks, she made scathing onslaughts on Arvind Kejriwal as the campaign peaked and went on to describe her former Team Anna colleague as a "liar" and someone whose influence was "toxic".
Kejriwal and Bedi were part of the core team of activist Anna Hazare who had led a massive agitation to press for the passage of the Jan Lokpal Bill in Parliament. The two had parted ways in 2012 after Kejriwal's decision to float a political party.
Bedi had severely criticised Kejriwal then saying she would continue to work with Anna Hazare and would never join any political party. Kejriwal had also offered Bedi AAP's chief ministerial candidate in the 2013 assembly polls but she declined the offer.
The police officer-turned-activist-turned-politician wanted to replicate the Gujarat model of Governance in Delhi. Her five mantras for Delhi were "sanskari Dilli, saksham Dilli, sakshar Dilli, swastha Dilli and surakshit Dilli."
She had been a tennis player and had won inter-state national tennis championship for Delhi in 1978. In 1972, Bedi married fellow tennis player Brij Bedi.
Bedi had also set up various vocational and skills training development centres. As a social activist, she has also worked for the education of underprivileged children, youth and women.
She is also know as a Tihar jail reformist and has worked for the spiritual development of inmates and their children.
Bedi was born on 9 June 1949 in Amritsar in a Punjabi business family.
Since her school days, Bedi was an active member of National Cadet Corps (NCC) and used to participate in various extra-curricular activities.
Bedi graduated in 1968, with a BA (Honours) in English, from Government College for Women at Amritsar. The same year, she won the NCC Cadet Officer Award. In 1970, she obtained a Master's degree in political science from Punjab University, Chandigarh.
Bedi joined the Khalsa College for Women in Amritsar as a lecturer in 1970. She joined the Indian Police Service in 1972 becoming thefirst woman IPS officer of the country. After completing her training at the National Police Academy at Mount Abu, Rajasthan, she was posted as the Sub-Divisional Police Officer at the Chanakyapuri Police Station.
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