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Updated: Apr 29, 2019 15:47 IST

In its first battle to prove its mettle in Haryana politics, the newly formed Jannayak Janta Party (JJP) has relied on Swati Yadav, 30, to win the Bhiwani-Mahendragarh parliamentary seat. Swati is the only woman who has been given a ticket by the JJP, which has seven out of total 10 seats in its share after it forged an alliance with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).

The Bhiwani Lok Sabha seat was represented by JJP founders Dushyant and Digvijay’s incarcerated father Ajay Chautala in 1999. It was speculated that the party will field Chautala’s wife and Dabwali MLA Naina Chautala from Bhiwani.

But since both the Congress and the BJP gave tickets to Jat candidates, the JJP, eyeing Yadav votes, chose Swati instead.

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The 30-year-old is the youngest woman contesting the LS polls in Haryana among major parties. She is the daughter of former Indian National Lok Dal (INLD) leader Satbir Yadav, who had unsuccessfully contested the 2014 assembly election from Ateli constituency in Mahendragarh. Satbir sided with Dushyant and joined INLD’s offshoot JJP after the Chautalas split. He is presently JJP’s Mahendragarh district president.

Swati did her schooling from Ryan International School in Vasant Kunj, Delhi. She then went to United States and studied electrical engineering from Clemson University. According to her father, Swati took up several leadership positions in many top companies in the US after her graduation, before pursuing an MBA from Georgia Tech University in 2015. “She was the vice-president of women club and social welfare club at her university. She was also part of Indian students’ associations in the US and helped students in resolving their issues,” Satbir said.

In 2016, Swati returned to India and joined her father’s business—Euro Group of

Schools in south Haryana. She had been a regular in Naina Chautala’s Hari Chunri Chaupal meetings where the Dabwali MLA addressed women.

Swati said her reason for joining politics was to fulfil her dream of women empowerment. “I want to see our country providing equal opportunities to both men and women. For this to happen, people to need to change their mindset towards women,” she said.

Swati’s father said after she joined his school business, she started organising ‘Euro minimarathons’ for women to help them stay active and focus on their fitness. “She also regularly organises medical camps for women to raise awareness about their health,” he said.

Swati said she also wants to provide high quality education to all children so they could easily get jobs. Active on all social media channels for campaigning, Swati regularly posts her videos slamming the BJP and the Congress for misrule in the past. She will face sitting BJP MP Dharambir Singh and former Congress MP Shruti Choudhry in the elections.

Also Read | Lok Sabha Elections 2019: Parties fail women in Haryana again