KarunaShukla, a Congress leader and the niece of former Prime Minister Atal BihariVajpayee, died of Covid-19 in the Ramakrishna Care hospital in Raipur. Aftertesting positive for the virus, she was undergoing treatment at the hospitalhere.
Shuklabreathed her last late on Monday evening.
ChhattisgarhChief Minister Bhupesh Baghel tweeted, "My Karuna 'Chachi' (referring toKaruna Shukla) is no more. Covid-19 took her life as well. I had a very closefamily relationship with her outside of politics and I continued to receive herblessings. God give her space in his abode and provide us the courage to bearthis irreparable loss."
KarunaShukla, who was currently the Chairman of the Social Welfare Board inChhattisgarh, was associated with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) for a longtime. Karuna Shukla, who was with the BJP from 1982 to 2013, was upset with theparty and had joined the Congress. In the 2018 state Assembly elections, shehad contested from Rajnandgaon constituency against former Chhattisgarh ChiefMinister Raman Singh but lost to him.