Once dubbed as an outsider by even sections within her own party, Delhi [Images] Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit has demonstrated her popularity and prowess, spearheading the Congress back to power for the third consecutive time.

The 71-year-old is the first Congress chief minister to win a third term.

Dikshit's had to tackle the triple threat of detractors within the party, anti-incumbancy, and a resurgent Bharatiya Janata Party.

She has proved with her charisma and good governance over a decade that she is the unmatched leader of the Congress in the national capital leaving her detractors red-faced.

Born in a non-political family in Kapurthala district on March 31, 1938, Dikshit, the eldest of three daughters, was exposed to politics after she married Vinod Dikshit, an IAS officer and son of former Union minister and Governor Uma Shankar Dikshit.

She received her primary education at Delhi's Convent of Jesus and Mary school and graduated from Miranda House, Delhi University and obtained a post-graduation degree in History.

First elected to the Lok Sabha in 1984 from Kannauj Parliamentary Constituency of Uttar Pradesh [Images], she served as a minister under Rajiv Gandhi [Images] first as the minister of state for parliamentary affairs and later as a minister of state in the prime minister's office.