Laxmi Nagar MLA Abhay Verma appointed BJP chief whip in Delhi Assembly

Laxmi Nagar MLA Abhay Verma was on Tuesday appointed the ruling BJP's chief whip in the Delhi Assembly.

His appointment was made in a meeting of the BJP Legislative Party in the presence of the party's Delhi unit president Virendra Sachdeva.

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta and other BJP MLAs were present at the meeting.

"During the meeting, discussions were held about the appointment of a chief whip to ensure the smooth functioning of the Legislative Party. All MLAs present decided to entrust this decision to Delhi BJP President Virendra Sachdeva," said the Delhi BJP in a statement.

After consulting the chief minister, Sachdeva announced Verma's appointment as the chief whip, it said.

Reacting to the announcement, Verma said, "As the chief whip, I will ensure coordination between the party MLAs and the government for smooth running of the House."  A two-time MLA from Laxmi Nagar, Verma (52) is a Purvanchali leader and the Delhi BJP's chief spokesperson. A law graduate of Delhi University, he was associated with the ABVP since his student days.

In 2007, he was associated with the Legal Cell of the Delhi BJP and went on to head the party's Purvanchal Morcha in 2010. He made an unsuccessful electoral debut in 2013 from the Laxmi Nagar assembly segment.

In 2020, he won the Laxmi Nagar seat by a wafer-thin margin. He managed to win the seat comprehensively in the February 5 Assembly polls.