BJP’s ‘giant killer’ Parvesh Verma, who defeated Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in the Assembly polls, has a strong connection with Madhya Pradesh, as he is the son-in-law of BJP’s veteran leader and former union minister from Madhya Pradesh, Vikram Verma (81).
Parvesh Verma’s wife, Swati Verma, is Vikram Verma’s daughter.
Vikram Verma was born in the Dharampuri village of Dhar district in Madhya Pradesh in 1944.
His son-in-law, Parvesh Verma handed the biggest shock to the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) on Saturday by defeating AAP national convener Arvind Kejriwal from the New Delhi constituency in the Delhi Assembly polls, the results of which were declared today.
Vikram Verma has been the union minister of Youth Affairs and Sports from 2002 to 2004 under Prime Minister late Atal Behari Vajpayee, during his third ministry.
Verma was a BJP Member of the Rajya Sabha then. He was re-elected to the Upper House of Parliament in 2006. Earlier, Vikram Verma was cabinet minister for sports and education from 1989 to 1993 in the Madhya Pradesh BJP government.
Later, he became Leader of Opposition in the Madhya Pradesh State Assembly from 1993 to 1998, during Congress leader Digvijaya Singh’s first term as the Chief Minister of Madhya Pradesh.
Vikram Verma was first elected as an MLA to the Madhya Pradesh Legislative Assembly in 1977.
Throughout the campaigning for these Delhi Assembly polls, and much before that, Vikram Verma’s daughter, Swati Verma always stood steadfastly beside her husband, BJP candidate Parvesh Verma.
She could be seen with her husband during public events and community programmes.
Her commitment added a family-oriented connect with the voters, both at the personal and political levels, playing a significant role in Parvesh Verma’s comfortable victory over Arvind Kejriwal.
After the announcement of the result, Swati Verma expressed gratitude to the voters and the people of Delhi.
Swati Verma had also filed her nomination from her husband’s seat, as a dummy candidate in these Delhi polls.
Parvesh Verma not only defeated Arvind Kejriwal but also senior Congress leader Sandeep Dikshit in these elections.
Sandeep Dikshit is also the son of the former Congress CM of Delhi, late Sheila Dikshit, who was Delhi’s longest-serving CM continuously for 15 years from 1998 to 2013, as well as the longest-serving woman CM of any state in India to date.