Benched in 2024, Parvesh Verma Man of the Match

Aakhir Tak – In Shorts

1. After being denied a Lok Sabha ticket in 2024, Parvesh Verma staged a stunning comeback by defeating Kejriwal.
2. Parvesh Verma is among the contenders for Delhi Chief Minister’s post.
3. Verma didn’t sulk after being denied the BJP ticket.
4. He gave credit for his victory to PM Modi and the people of Delhi.
5. Verma said a SIT will be formed to probe corruption during Kejriwal’s tenure.

Aakhir Tak – In Depth

The BJP’s Parvesh Verma, who trounced AAP chief Arvind Kejriwal in New Delhi, is being branded by some as the biggest winner. Others are calling him a giant slayer. He might be both, but the real story here is how Verma, once benched by his own party, has now emerged as the Player of the Match in the Delhi Assembly election 2025. What’s incredible is that he got just two months to prepare for the battle against AAP giant Kejriwal. Parvesh Verma has performed brilliantly.

Denied a BJP ticket in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls despite being a two-time MP from West Delhi (2014-2024), Verma didn’t sulk or stray. Instead, he accepted the party high command’s decision, kept his chin up, and set his sights on the Delhi elections as early as March 2024. Fast-forward to Saturday (February 8), Verma, the man who was left out of the BJP’s playing XI, is being crowned the Player of the Match. He has proven to be a key player in the Delhi Election.

Like a veteran politician, Verma gave credit for his and the BJP’s victory in Delhi to PM Narendra Modi, and the people of Delhi. “I was told just two months back that I needed to contest from New Delhi [Kejriwal’s seat],” Verma told India Today TV minutes after Kejriwal conceded the election.

But Verma signalled that Kejriwal was in his crosshairs.

“A Special Investigation Team will be formed in the first Cabinet to probe all corruption during Kejriwal’s tenure,” he said.

Verma defeated AAP convenor Kejriwal in New Delhi by a margin of 4,099 votes in what turned into a largely bipolar contest. Trailing in third place was Sandeep Dikshit, son of former Delhi CM Sheila Dikshit, with 4,541 votes, in the very seat Kejriwal had snatched from his mother in 2013 to kickstart his tenure. There has been a big upset in the Delhi Election.

PARVESH VERMA: FROM SON OF EX-CM TO TWO-TIME MP

Verma, son of former Delhi CM Sahib Singh Verma, first won as an MLA from Mehrauli before making the jump to Parliament.

After the Delhi Assembly was dissolved in 2013, he was fielded for the Lok Sabha in 2014. He went on to win from West Delhi, and retained the seat in the 2019 election.

Verma’s 2019 victory, with a margin of 5.7 lakh votes, set a record as the highest-ever win in Delhi’s parliamentary election history.

However, in the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, the BJP opted for a change, replacing Verma with Kamaljeet Sehrawat, a leader from the Jat community, for the West Delhi Lok Sabha seat.

“There is no reason behind [the BJP] not giving me the ticket. This is our party, in which a worker can become CM and a tea seller can become PM. BJP gives opportunity to every worker,” Parvesh Verma said in March 2024 after the ticket denial.

“Our focus is to win 400 seats and then win the Delhi Assembly,” he added, keeping his aim set at the Delhi Assembly election in 2025.

His, and the BJP’s, eyes were on Delhi 2025. This has come as a big blow for Arvind Kejriwal.

If not the face of the BJP, Verma had certainly been one of the saffron party’s most trusted and fierce lieutenants in the run-up to the Delhi Assembly election.

HOW PARVESH VERMA POSITIONED HIMSELF AS CM-POST CONTENDER

Parvesh Verma aggressively took the BJP’s campaign to the people of Delhi. He spoke about the Centre’s governance and criticised Kejriwal’s and the AAP’s policies.

On his target were, the AAP’s management of pollution and crumbling infrastructure of Delhi. Verma’s campaign was marked by a bitter war of words with Arvind Kejriwal, including allegations of misuse of resources and security concerns.

He even took up the BJP’s ‘Seeshmahal’ charge on splurging on the CM’s official residence, and attacked Arvind Kejriwal and the AAP over their inaction on Yamuna pollution.

While he took the BJP’s message to the people of Delhi, he also strategically positioned himself as a potential CM candidate by ferociously attacking the AAP.

When asked about the CM face, Verma said, “I will talk about it later”.

Now that he’s emerged victorious, at least against Kejriwal in New Delhi, Verma, when asked about the bitter election campaign, responded with the iconic song, “Chhoro kal ki baatein, kal ki baatein purani, naye daur mein likhenge hum mil kar nayi kahani”.

Today, the spotlight is on Parvesh Verma. He may have been dropped from the BJP’s 2024 Lok Sabha playing XI, but he just took the biggest wicket in Delhi politics. Will he get the captain’s cap? Only time and the BJP high command will tell.

Aakhir Tak – Key Takeaways to Remember

Benched in 2024, Parvesh Verma emerged as the Man of the Match, now CM contender. Verma made a stunning comeback by defeating Kejriwal.

Aakhir Tak Editor-in-Chief

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