Who is Sat Sharma, BJP's new Jammu and Kashmir President?

Weeks after the assembly polls in the Union Territory of Jammu and Kashmir, Sat Paul Sharma, a former minister, has been appointed as the new president of the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) J&K unit. This is Sharma’s second term in the role. He has served as J&K BJP chief from 2015 to 2018. His reappointment comes amid internal party dissent over recent ticket distributions in the assembly elections, where Sharma was previously denied a ticket. 

Sharma, a 63-year-old chartered accountant, will succeed Ravinder Raina, who served as president for six-and-a-half years and is now a member of the BJP's national executive. Ravinder Raina suffered a setback in the recent assembly polls. He lost the assembly polls from Nowshera to NC's Surinder Kumar Choudhary. 

Originally from a Dogra family in Jammu, Sharma entered politics with the BJP, winning the Jammu West assembly seat in 2014. He briefly held a cabinet minister position in the BJP-PDP coalition government before it dissolved in 2018 when the BJP withdrew support.

The BJP secured 29 out of 90 seats in the recent assembly polls with a 26 per cent vote share, marking significant gains in Jammu and Kashmir. 

Sharma expressed gratitude to BJP’s central leadership, vowing to address any challenges from his first tenure and to lead the party to new heights in the Union Territory. His reappointment comes as Jammu and Kashmir prepares for urban local body and panchayat elections, likely early next year.