New Delhi: Indu Verma, wife of three-time BJP legislator from Theog in Shimla district late Rakesh Verma, on Friday, joined the Indian National Congress at the AICC headquarters in Delhi.
Indu Verma is active in the Theog assembly constituency for last 25 years and had remained a Zila Parishad member twice from two different wards. She was also the district Shimla BJP Mahila Morcha president.
AICC in-charge for Himachal Rajeev Shukla said Indu Verma’s joining the Congress would strengthen it. Shukla acknowledged the clout of the Verma family in the Theog region and hoping to get benefits in adjoining Kusampati and Chopal assembly constituencies as well.
Rakesh Verma had represented the Theog assembly constituency thrice in 1993 on a BJP ticket and later in 2003 and 2007 as an independent candidate. In 1993 Verma had trounced Congress veteran Vidya Stokes and following his growing popularity in the region, Stokes had to shift to the adjoining Kotgarh-Kumarsen constituency.
Race of Congress ticket intensifies
With Indu Verma’s inclusion in the party tussle for the Congress ticket will intensify from Theog. Former state party president Kuldeep Rathore had already made his intention of contesting the election, while Deepak Rathore, a congress candidate in the 2017 assembly election was active in the region for the last five years. Atul Sharma, a staunch follower of Pratibha Singh, is also willing to contest the election.
