Young woman in a hurry

And Lamba, once adjudged the best woman athlete at Delhi’s Dyal Singh College, appears to have gone through life with the same remarkable speed. She’s completed an M.Sc. in Chemistry from Delhi University and a B.Ed. from Bundelkhand University. She was elected president of the Delhi University Students’ Union (DUSU) in 1995 and has headed the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI). In the middle she took a four-year break, has a five-year-old son and is just 28 years old.

Though some may see her progression from student leader to aspiring national neta as natural, Lamba like many of her tribe says she had never been sure if she wanted to join politics. ‘‘I come from a non-political family. My father was in the Army and my mother is a housewife. Initially my mother was not too keen I join politics—you know everyone thinks that if you are a girl you should keep away from politics,’’ says Lamba, the third of six sisters.

But ignoring the reservations, Lamba joined student politics at a time when to the public, the association between women and politics seemed most lethal. ‘‘At the time of the DUSU elections, the Naina Sahni case had just happened. I met Sonia Gandhi then, who told me I had to wash this stain.’’

So Lamba went about campus canvassing, addressing especially women. ‘‘I told the girls on campus we can respond in two ways: either we keep inside our homes or we come out and protest.’’ She was the only NSUI candidate to win that year.

After heading DUSU, she was made president of the NSUI in 1997. Then followed some relatively uneventful years. She put her B.Ed. degree to use—‘‘I coached Class XII students at home’’. She was the Delhi president of the Rashtriya Yuva Parishad, a social organisation.

‘‘I was not involved in active politics but remained a part of the Congress parivar and as part of the Rashtrita Yuva Parishad I was involved in social work, such as helping victims of the Bhuj earthquake.’’

Politics beckoned again this year when Sonia called Lamba. ‘‘I have taken up the challenge—this time to stand against a senior leader like Khurana,’’ she says.

But her troubled domestic life is ensuring its own share of challenges. Her estranged husband recently emerged from the shadows accusing Lamba of harassing her in-laws and of stopping him from meeting their son Hrithik.

But on the road Lamba is not letting any of that stop her. She’s narrowed her agenda to appeal to youth and women—both of which she is.

‘‘I want to generate more jobs for the youth and provide security to women, to stop crime against women and, of course, to work for development.’’

And her role models in politics? Indira and Rajiv Gandhi. The reason is not hard to guess: The first for inspiring women, the other youth.