News Maker Kamal Sharma : Distance travelled…… from Ground Zero to the State BJP HQ
Courtesy…babushahi.com
Punjab BJP President Kamal Sharma is in the news headlines these days due to the reported involvement of his political aide in a case related to drug smuggling and Hawala business. Harish Monga, Ferozepur district correspondent of babushahi.com takes a look at the various aspects of his personality-Editor, TNM
News Maker
Kamal Sharma : Distance travelled…… from Ground Zero to the State BJP HQ
The political career of Kamal Sharma reached its logical next higher level when the BJP High Command elevated him to the top position in the Punjab BJP affairs by nominating him as the state unit chief. No doubt, he owed this career upswing to his unflinching loyalty to the saffron ideology upheld by Rashtriya Sawamsewak Sangh (RSS) and his active participation in the ABVP affairs at the ground level.
Kamal Sharma’s family had migrated from Sialkot (Pakistan) to Gurdspur after the Partition and later shifted to the border city Ferozepur where he was born on March 17, 1970. His father Tilak Raj Sharma was an employee of the Northern Railways. He is the youngest in the family with two elder siblings.
He grew up in a culture that instilled in him the values of generosity, benevolence and social service. He got his basic education from Harbhagwan Memorial Senior Secondary School, Ferozepur and graduated from the local RSD College. Good in studies, Sharma also excelled in co-curricular activities especially debates.
His political career took off when at the age of 14 years,he started attending Sangh Shakhas organised by the RSS which later on formed Jan Sangh as its political party now known as Bhartiya Janata Party (BJP).
After his schooling, he became active member of Akhil Bhartiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the student wing of RSS. Later he worked in various capacities – Office Secretary in 1985, Secretary in 1986, President in 1987, Joint Secretary of the state unit of ABVP in 1988 and its national Secretary from 1992 to 1994 when he also took active part in Kar Sewa in Ayodhya, State Sanghathan Mantri between 1994-1996 and then as National Executive Committee member of the ABVP from1997 to 2003.
Prior to his active entry into politics, Kamal Sharma was appointed as Media Advisor in Khadi & Village Industry Commission of India and this stint saw him shifting his base to the national capital. In 2006, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister, Shivraj Chauhan, who was already known to him during his days in ABVP, appointed him as his media advisor from 2004-2006.
His stock in the eyes of the national BJP leadership rose when senior leader Arun Jaitely persuaded Sharma to assist him for Punjab Vidhan Sabha polls in 2007. The BJP created electoral history by winning 19 seats out of 23 it contested in these polls. Impressed with his organizational skills, the national leadership of BJP rewarded him with post of General Secretary of Punjab BJP unit. He was nominated for the second term in 2010 for strengthening the party base in the state.
Though he got the important post of political advisor to BJP’s alliance partner SAD’s supremo and Punjab CM Prakash Singh Badal, the real break in his political career came when, with the blessings of Arun Jaitley, he was appointed the state BJP president. Unfortunately, Jaitley lost Lok Sabha election from Amritsar seat in May 2014 while Sharma was at the helm of the BJP affairs in the state.
In his personal life, Kamal Sharma was not a much known figure in his home city Ferozepur . He came in limelight only after becoming the General Secretary of BJP. He picked up nuances of staecraft during his tenure as media advisor of MP Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chauhan. A true son of the soil, he loves to converse in mother tongue Punjabi. His oratorical ability coupled with leadership qualities came in handy during his political journey from the ground zero to the state BJP HQ…..
