The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is on its own course to win all the seven Lok Sabha constituencies in Delhi in the now concluded general elections.
In the New Delhi constituency, the BJP took a bold decision to field Bansuri Swaraj, an electoral debutant. The saffron party dropped two-time MP from New Delhi and veteran leader Meenkshi Lekhi.
Swaraj was given the opportunity to contest in the constituency where several prominent leaders including late ex-PM Atal Bihari Vajpayee and ex-deputy PM Lal Krishna Advani have contested.
Three time Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) MLA Somnath Bharti is pitted against Swaraj. However, as of 18:50 PM, Swaraj has taken a comfortable lead of over 75,000 votes against Bharti, more or less cementing her place in the Lok Sabha.
Swaraj's unprecedented success in the electorate leads to questions on who she is and how she rose to prominence in her debut election.
Who is Bansuri Swaraj?
Bansuri Swaraj is the daughter of the late former foreign affairs minister Sushma Swaraj. Her father Swaraj Kaushal is senior advocate at the Supreme Court of India and former governor of Mizoram. Kaushal was a Member of Parliament from 1998 to 2004, and is one of the youngest lawyers to be designates as a senior advocate at 34.
Bansuri, who followed her father's footsteps and became a lawyer, is the co-convener of BJP’s legal cell.
Bansuri Swaraj completed her undergraduate studies form the University of Warwick in B.A. (Hons) English Literature. She then studied law at the prestigious BPP Law School in London. She qualified as a Barrister at Law, and was called to the bar at the Inn of Inner Temple, London. Thereafter, she pursued a Masters of Studies from St. Catherine’s College at the University of Oxford. She has an experience of over 16 years as a lawyer.
As a lawyer, Swaraj has appeared in disputes pertaining to contracts, real estate, tax, international commercial arbitrations, as well as several criminal trials. In addition to this, she also appears in the supreme court for Haryana state.
In her campaign, Swaraj has promised to allocate 25 percent of the MP local area development scheme (MPLADS) funds to residents' welfare associations, and has assured that every central government scheme will reach the residents of her constituency, if she's elected.
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