AGRA / NOIDA — Chhotelal Verma, the sitting Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) MLA representing the Fatehabad constituency in Agra, passed away late Thursday evening at Yatharth Hospital in Noida at the age of 73. Verma had been suffering from high fever over the preceding days and was initially admitted to Upadhyay Hospital in Agra on September 22. Following a sharp deterioration in his health, his family arranged to transfer him to Sir Ganga Ram Hospital in New Delhi; however, his vital signs collapsed en route, prompting an emergency detour to Noida where doctors were unable to revive him. His mortal remains were brought to his residence on Friday morning before being taken to his ancestral village, Nagla Dev Hans in Agra, for the final rites.
A Grounded Leader: The Famous ‘Stolen Shoes’ Incident
A member of the Mallah (Nishad) community, Verma has made a very close, community-based relationship with rural, underdeveloped, and poor communities across Agra. There are many stories showing his humble nature, some are mentioned below.
During the inauguration of Sati Mela in the Dhimshri area of Shamshabad, Verma’s shoes were stolen while he was inside praying at a temple. Local party members who were around started looking for Verma’s shoes, but he calmed them saying he would walk barefoot to his car. Instead of getting mad he said “Someone poor without shoes probably took them to wear. I just pray to Maa Sati that she and give him a good life.”
Four Decades in Public Life
Born on July 7, 1953, in Nagla Dev Hans, Verma balanced his family agriculture and business before entering into active electoral politics. Over his four-decade career, he was elected to the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly four times:
- 1993 & 2002: Won his first two terms as a BJP candidate from Fatehabad.
- 2007 & 2012: After being denied a BJP ticket in 2007, he briefly contested under the Samajwadi Party (SP) banner before joining the Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP), winning the seat again in 2012.
- 2022: Rejoining the BJP, he secured a decisive victory to claim his fourth term in the state legislature.
Family Questions Medical Circumstances
After Verma’s death, his son Mahendra Singh Verma raised serious questions about the entire medical procedures that led to his father’s demise. In a conversation with the media, Mahendra said that all diagnostic tests that had performed in the last 24 hours, including MRI, CT, urine culture, and blood culture tests, had showed negative or showed no warning signals.
Mahendra said that around 2 AM he had been told the doctors recommended blood transfusion due to low hemoglobin. As he went out to get blood for his father, his sister called him to inform that their father had suddenly collapsed and was unable to breathe. Upon his arrival, he saw the Verma on a machine for respiratory assistance. “Just an hour ago my father had brushed his teeth on his own and was talking to us normally. We don’t know how his health got worse to put him on the ventilator so fast,” he said, demanding a clear-cut medical explanation for the cause of death.
Condolences and Assembly Vacancies
Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath expressed grief on X, describing Verma’s demise as an irreparable loss and praying for strength to the bereaved family. Similar condolences were extended by Assembly Speaker Satish Mahana, UP BJP President Pankaj Chaudhary, and Deputy Chief Ministers Keshav Prasad Maurya and Brajesh Pathak.
With Verma’s passing, seven seats in the Uttar Pradesh Assembly have fallen vacant due to the deaths of sitting legislators. However, with less than six months remaining in the current assembly term, no by-elections will be conducted for the vacant constituencies.
