Chhattisgarh BJP picks sangathan hand Laxmi Verma for Rajya Sabha

RAIPUR: Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) has named Lakshmi Verma as its Rajya Sabha candidate from Chhattisgarh on Tuesday. After internal deliberations, three names were shortlisted from a panel of seven — Lakshmi Verma, Narayan Chandel and Kiran Baghel.

The party ultimately picked a "sangathan" hand, Lakshmi Verma, with a three-decade political run and a quiet, ground-up profile over louder claimants in a list that the party high command released for six states.




Party sources said Verma’s name was cleared after two rounds of closed-door deliberations, with the leadership narrowing a seven-name panel to a final shortlist of three, before settling on Verma. Within the state unit, the decision is being read as a blend of organisational loyalty, social arithmetic and “matrashakti”.

A Kurmi face from the OBC fold, Verma is currently a member of the Chhattisgarh state women commission and also serves as BJP’s state organisational vice-president. She has previously been the party’s spokesperson, and is widely described by colleagues as low-profile, accessible and work-focused, with no controversies attached to her name.

Verma’s political career began in local bodies: she was first elected as a Raipur Municipal Corporation corporator from Khamtarai in 1994, and later rose through the panchayat ladder, including a stint as Raipur zila panchayat president, building her image as a leader shaped by organisational assignments rather than electoral limelight. A resident of Balodabazar district, she is now based in Raipur.

Within BJP circles, Verma has been a familiar name in recent ticket discussions too. She was considered for a Vidhan Sabha ticket in 2023, and her name had also figured in Lok Sabha ticket chatter, though she did not make the final cut, party insiders told TOI.

Even as she is seen as an organisation’s preferred pick, Verma has also shown a willingness to challenge what she views as wrong. Recently, she had flagged complaints to the Governor against women’s commission chairperson Kiranmayee Nayak, alleging that members were not taken into confidence along with other points— a move after which Verma reportedly stopped attending office for a period before the situation was later ironed out.

Verma is seen as a reliable organisational hand—someone who has worked the ladder from district-level responsibilities to the state unit, and is widely described by colleagues as accessible and work-focused.

The nomination comes as Chhattisgarh heads into biennial Rajya Sabha elections for two seats. Of the state’s five Rajya Sabha MPs, the terms of KTS Tulsi and Phulo Devi Netam (both Congress) are set to end on April 9, 2026. The other sitting members are Ranjeet Ranjan and Rajiv Shukla (Congress), and Devendra Pratap Singh (BJP).

In the 90-member assembly, all MLAs will vote: BJP has 54, Congress 35, and one member from the Gondwana Gantantra Party. The winning quota works out to 31 first-preference votes, making it a numbers-driven contest where both BJP and Congress are expected to secure one seat each if party lines hold.

As per the schedule, nominations can be filed till March 5, scrutiny will be held on March 6, and withdrawals are allowed till March 9. Polling is scheduled on March 16 (9am to 4pm), with counting to begin at 5pm the same day. The process will be completed by March 20. Voting will be through ballot papers.

For the BJP, Verma’s candidature is being projected internally as a “sangathan” reward — a leader who keeps her head down, works the cadre network, and now gets a ticket at a moment when the party wants both women’s representation and a socially steady candidate in the Upper House race.

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