Ex-minister Sat Sharma returns as head of J&K BJP

Jammu: Former minister Sat Paul Sharma returned as the head of the Jammu and Kashmir unit of BJP, a post he had held for two-and-a-half years between 2015 and 2018.

Sharma, 63, was denied a party ticket in the recent Assembly election. He was appointed as working president of the party in September amid resentment over ticket distribution and is now elevated to the post of president, replacing the party’s longest-serving J-K unit president Ravinder Raina.

Raina, who had replaced Sharma in May 2018 and held the post for six-and-a-half years, has been made a member of the party’s national executive. He had failed to retain his Nowshera constituency of Rajouri district as he was defeated by National Conference candidate and now deputy chief minister Surinder Choudhary.

Sharma won from the Jammu West Assembly constituency on a BJP ticket for the first time in 2014 and also served as cabinet minister for 40 days in the PDP-BJP government which collapsed in 2018 after the saffron party withdrew its support.

“I am thankful to the central leadership for giving me this responsibility for the second time. I will try to overcome any shortcoming during my first tenure and will

play my role to ensure the party can script history,” the BJP leader said.