What Makes Parvesh Verma the Top Choice for Delhi CM?

New Delhi: With a historic win in the Delhi Assembly elections after a 27-year hiatus, BJP is set to form the government once Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns from his visit to the United States.

Unless the party leadership opts for a surprise choice, BJP and RSS are reportedly in agreement on Parvesh Verma being the right candidate for the top post in Delhi.

Verma defeated Aam Aadmi Party chief Arvind Kejriwal, whose old video went viral on Saturday where he could be heard saying, "PM Modi cannot defeat him in his lifetime."

A victory over the person known as PM Modi's biggest challenger is, by itself, a strong case for him being the rightful candidate for the post. 

The giant slayer bested former Delhi Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal in a fierce contest for the New Delhi seat by a margin of 4,089 votes. Verma, aged 47, secured 30,088 votes, while Kejriwal and Congress' Sandeep Dikshit received 25,999 and 4,568 votes, respectively.

Soon after winning the election, Verma went straight to meet Home Minister Amit Shah. This visit fueled further speculation about his candidacy.

Parvesh, a two-time MP from West Delhi, mounted a highly spirited campaign in New Delhi even before BJP officially announced his candidacy. Verma, the son of former Delhi CM Sahib Singh Verma, is a two-time MP from West Delhi with an undefeated record in every election he has contested.

This management graduate, known for his vocal and spirited nature, publicly declared himself Kejriwal's rival for the New Delhi seat, which the former Delhi Chief Minister has held since 2013.

Born on November 7, 1977, in Delhi, Verma entered politics in his childhood, joining the RSS as a Bal Swayamsewak in 1991. Later, he joined BJP Yuva Morcha, becoming its national executive member, and subsequently worked as the general secretary of Delhi BJP.

In the 2013 Assembly elections, he was elected as an MLA from the Mehrauli seat. He won the Lok Sabha elections as the BJP candidate from West Delhi in 2015. He contested the West Delhi Lok Sabha seat again in 2019, winning by a whopping margin of over 4.78 lakh votes.

Currently serving as a BJP national executive member, Verma also engages in social work through "Rashtriya Swabhiman," a non-profit founded by his father. The organization's initiatives include an honorarium of Rs 1 lakh each to the kin of Kargil war martyrs, resettlement of two villages in earthquake-affected Gujarat, and rehabilitation efforts in three cyclone-hit villages in Odisha.