Raman Singh vs Karuna Shukla: Atal proteges lock horns in Rajnandgaon

Shukla, niece of Atal Bihari Vajpayee, is contesting against Chhattisgarh CM Raman Singh from Rajnandgaon

Soon after the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) came to power after toppling the Congress-led Ajit Jogi government in December 2003, Karuna Shukla received a call from a senior leader to accompany a delegation to New Delhi to meet the then prime minister, Atal Bihari Vajpayee.

Besides being a firebrand leader of the party, former legislator and BJP Mahila Morcha national president, Karuna Shukla had another identity. She was the niece of Vajpayee. The delegation led by Chief Minister Raman Singh was on a key mission — to request the prime minister to remove the then governor, Dinesh Nandan Sahay, for