Delhi Elections 2025: 5 Facts About BJP's Parvesh Verma, Who Is Set To Fight Arvind Kejriwal

The BJP has fielded Parvesh Verma, a two-time MP, from the New Delhi seat in the upcoming Delhi Assembly elections. Mr Verma, a prominent Jat face in the national capital, will be up against former Delhi Chief Minister and Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) convener Arvind Kejriwal.

Two-time MP Sandeep Dikshit, the son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit, is also contesting from the same seat. The Delhi Assembly elections are scheduled to be held on February 5, with the counting of votes set for February 8.

Here are some facts about Parvesh Verma:

1. Born on November 7, 1977, Parvesh Verma is the son of former Delhi Chief Minister Sahib Singh Verma. He graduated from Kirori Mal College, Delhi University, and later earned an MBA from the Fore School of Management. Mr Verma is married to Swati Singh, the daughter of former Union Minister and BJP leader from Madhya Pradesh, Vikram Verma. They have three children.

2. Parvesh Verma has been associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS) since childhood and served as 'Shakha Pramukh' in Keshavpuram. He began his political career as a member of the BJP and later became a National Executive Member of the Delhi Janata Yuva Morcha. He was part of the Delhi BJP Election Committee during the 2013 Assembly elections and was the party candidate from Mehrauli. Mr Verma defeated AAP's Narinder Singh Sejwal and unseated incumbent Congress MLA Yoganand Shastri.

3. In 2014, Mr Verma contested the Lok Sabha elections and won by a record margin of 2.6 lakh votes, from the West Delhi parliamentary seat. He served on the Joint Committee on Salaries and Allowances of Members of Parliament, the Standing Committee on Urban Development, and the governing body of AIIMS, New Delhi.

4. Parvesh Verma retained the West Delhi Lok Sabha seat in 2019, winning by an even bigger margin of 5.78 lakh votes. Despite back-to-back wins by record margins, Mr Verma wasn't among the candidates for the 2024 Lok Sabha elections.

5. Parvesh Verma has often courted controversies for his inflammatory remarks targeting minorities. During the 2020 Delhi Assembly election campaign, Mr Verma claimed that if the BJP won in Delhi, the Shaheen Bagh protests against the Citizenship Amendment Act (CAA) would be cleared within an hour. He also accused the demonstrators, primarily Muslims, of posing a threat to Hindu families, saying they could enter houses and “kill and rape” women. In 2022, at a Vishwa Hindu Parishad rally, he called for a "complete boycott" of the Muslim community.