Bedi versus Kejriwal: From activists to hyper-activists

Arvind Kejriwal of AAP and Kiran Bedi of BJP are their respective parties' faces in the upcoming Delhi polls. Once upon a time, they were close colleagues but since then, they have drifted apart. Here's a comparative look at their profiles which will reveal some striking similarities.

EDUCATION: After schooling, Kejriwal went on to graduate in mechanical engineering from the prestigious Indian Institute of Technology, Kharagpur. (Text by Vishnu Varma; Photo source: PTI)

EDUCATION: Bedi, on the other hand, passed out with a BA (Honours) degree in English from Government College for Women, Amritsar and later completed her master's degree in political science from Panjab University in Chandigarh. She also has a law degree from Delhi University and a PhD from IIT Delhi. (Text by Vishnu Varma; Photo source: PTI)

WORK: Kejriwal, after completing his education, worked for a while at Tata Steel in Jamshedpur. But he resigned from his job to prepare for the civil services examination. After qualification, he joined the Indian Revenue Service (IRS) and worked in the Income Tax department. (Text by Vishnu Varma; Photo source: PTI)

WORK: Bedi worked as a lecturer for a while and then started playing professional tennis. She has won numerous championships. In 1972, she started her police training in Musoorie and went on to become the first woman IPS officer of India. (Text by Vishnu Varma; Photo source: PTI)

POLITICS: Kejriwal took the jump into politics by launching the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in November, 2012. His party surprised many by winning 28 seats in the 2013 Delhi elections. (Text by Vishnu Varma)

POLITICS: Bedi officially joined the BJP in the presence of party president Amit Shah earlier this month and a few days later, was anointed the party's chief ministerial candidate for upcoming Delhi polls. (Text by Vishnu Varma)

AWARDS: Kejriwal has received the Ramon Magsaysay award for emergent leadership and was included in Time magazine's list of 100 most influential people in the world. (Text by Vishnu Varma)

AWARDS: Bedi has also won the Ramon Magsaysay award for government service. She has also been given the Nomura award for her humanitarian work. (Text by Vishnu Varma)

ACTIVISM: Apart from being a member of Anna Hazare's India against corruption movement, Kejriwal had also founded 'Parivartan', an organization devoted to solve problems of people concerning daily civic issues. (Text by Vishnu Varma)

ACTIVISM: Bedi has proven her mettle in social activism through the Navjyoti India Foundation, an organization she founded for the rehabilitation of alcohol and drug addicts. She also set up the India Vision Foundation which works in the areas of police and prison reforms. (Text by Vishnu Varma)