Parvesh Verma's family speaks to NDTV
The family of Parvesh Verma, the man who defeated Arvind Kejriwal, is expectedly thrilled and grateful as voters backed the BJP, ending its nearly three-decade wait to come back to power in Delhi.
Parvesh Verma beat Arvind Kejriwal in the New Delhi constituency, a seat that the former Delhi Chief Minister has been winning since 2013.
"It's a very, very memorable moment and we just want to enjoy at this time. We are very thankful to each and every person, starting from our leadership, respected Modi ji, respected Nadda ji, respected Amit Shah ji, everyone who showed confidence in us. Then voters, each and every karyakarta, family members. We want to thank everyone and we are very happy for the support which we got from everyone. We'll live up to it," Swati Verma, Parvesh Verma's wife, told NDTV.
Asked if these were the toughest elections that Mr Verma has fought till date, the wife of the BJP leader underscored that every election is tough but her husband has it in him to do it.
"No, each and every election is tough. When we were there in Mehrauli, that was our first election. In the past, I'll say Parvesh was the first one who won BJP, who won that election as a BJP candidate from Mehrauli. Then other two as MP, they were equally tough. He won by big margins, he was among the top five persons and now this election. So each and every election is different, it's tough and he is capable of doing it," said Ms Verma.
It was Arvind Kejriwal in 2013 who emerged as a giant slayer when he defeated sitting Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit in the New Delhi constituency. Cut to 2025, the tables have reversed and it is Parvesh Verma who beat Arvind Kejriwal in the very constituency.
The daughters of Parvesh Verma, son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma, said that their father will fulfil all the promises made to people of Delhi.
"I don't think I have words to quite describe the moment. I think my entire family is very proud of all the work that he's done in the past. The work that he's done in the past two months, especially in New Delhi. There is a reason that the New Delhi constituency members have voted for him in the high margins that they have, the confidence that they've shown for him. So I would just like to thank them. I would like to thank every family member, as my mom said, I would like to thank every party member, every karyakarta that showed confidence in him. We promise that we will live up to your expectations in the next five years," said Trisha Verma.
Asked by NDTV if the family is expecting a bigger role for him now, his daughter Sanidhi Verma said," I have all expectations from papa because I have worked on the ground and the promises I have made to everyone that my father will do all the work that Arvind Kejriwal made promises about. And I just hope papa can fulfil all their wishes. He will leave no ground unturned to give them everything that they deserve and make Delhi a better city."
Pressed to answer how did the family cope when Mr verma was away for campaigning, his son, Shiven Verma, underlined that that it was "perfectly fine" with them as the BJP leader was spending time with his second family.
"Mostly whenever he went for campaigning, we went to a different place for campaigning as well. So we weren't at home alone for most of the time. But whenever we were, sure, we did miss him. But at night when he came after campaigning or in the morning before he went for campaigning, we did have a lot of chats with him. We ate breakfast, we ate dinner with him. And that was all perfectly fine with us because he was spending time with his second family. He was serving them. He was taking away their problems. And that was perfectly all right by us," said Shiven Verma.
The BJP leader's wife further highlighted that the children are quite used to these pressures as they were brought up in a political family.
"These kids are born and brought up in a political family. So they are used to all these things. And we believe that if we have chosen something, we should fulfil it to the fullest. And that Pravesh will be doing. And as a family, we are always there to support him," said Ms Verma.
The AAP that had won 67 and 62 seats in the 2015 and 2020 Assembly polls, respectively, was restricted to only 22 seats this time.
