RAIPUR: Senior Congress leader Karuna Shukla (70), niece of former prime minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee and a two-time Lok Sabha member, died of COVID-19 in Raipur during the wee hours of Tuesday. She had tested positive and was hospitalised in a private hospital in Raipur. Her condition deteriorated on Monday late night.
Shukla, after having served the BJP for 32 years in different capacities quit the party to join Congress in October 2013 ahead of the Assembly elections after the saffron party allegedly ignored her candidature. She fought her last election on the Congress party ticket against the former CM Raman Singh from Rajnandgaon constituency during the Chhattisgarh Assembly polls 2018 but couldn't win.
Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel and other senior political leaders of Chhattisgarh have expressed grief at the demise of the Congress veteran leader.