Both were comrades-in-arms some four years ago when a massive anti-graft movement swept the country. They also share a common background as civil servants.
Now, the two stand as rivals to rule the state of New Delhi, the center of India’s politics.
Prime minister Narendra Modi’s Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has handpicked Bedi, a former policewoman, as its candidate for the city’s chief minister. In this, it sidestepped old, political loyalists.
The move, analysts say, was calculated.
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The upcoming election in India’s capital megacity is also billed as a popularity test for prime minister Modi. His grand rise to national power last May is often called the Modi wave. The prime minister has received praise for his reform-minded initiatives and impressive oratory.
At the same time, his BJP and affiliate Hindu groups have come under fire for sporadic Hindu-Muslim clashes over the past few months in parts of the country.
Also, Modi’s party is in a minority in the Rajya Sabha, the upper house of the Indian parliament. That limits his efforts to push his economic agenda.
Winning states in the coming years is therefore crucial for Modi’s government as regional lawmakers play a key role in electing the upper parliament members.
