Right across the spectrum from Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) local chief Ravinder Raina, who just had ₹1,000 cash in hand, party’s senior leader and former minister Sham Lal Sharma’s wealth has grown by crores in the past one decade to total at ₹17.7 crore. He also boasts of a fleet of cars.
According to Sharma’s affidavit filed before the returning officer on Monday, he has immovable assets worth ₹15.8 crore and liabilities of ₹1.2 crore besides moveable assets worth ₹1.9 crore. He has an additional ₹65,000 cash in hand. It marks a significant jump for Sharma, who had assets worth ₹10.4 crore when he contested polls in 2014 on a Congress ticket.
The 64-year-old politician, a resident of Purkhoo Domana, has no criminal case against him.
The immovable assets Sharma, who cleared his matriculation exam in 1978 from a state board school, included agricultural land at Pallanwala, Purkhoo, Palwan, non-agricultural land at Lower Roop Nagar, Muthi, commercial buildings at Patta Paloura and residential building at Platan.
The total current market value of the immovable assets accrued to ₹15.8 crore.
Sharma, who owns an atta chakki machinery, sheller machinery and poultry machinery, also has multiple cars including a ₹40-lakh Ford automobile, a Hyundai I 20 and a mini truck and Ace mint and a Tata car. His spouse, meanwhile, has gold jewellery worth ₹1.2 crore
{{/usCountry}}Sharma, who owns an atta chakki machinery, sheller machinery and poultry machinery, also has multiple cars including a ₹40-lakh Ford automobile, a Hyundai I 20 and a mini truck and Ace mint and a Tata car. His spouse, meanwhile, has gold jewellery worth ₹1.2 crore
{{/usCountry}}Sharma had joined BJP in 2019 barely 12 days ahead of the first phase of parliamentary polls on March 30. He had held the post of senior-vice president of Congress’ JK unit but quit the party in 2018.
The younger brother of two-time Congress MP Madan Lal Sharma, Sharma had won the Jammu-Poonch seat for two consecutive terms in 2004 and 2009.
He is considered a strong voice of Jammu region, had been Congress MLA twice from his home constituency of Akhnoor and served as a cabinet minister in NC-Congress coalition government in 2008.
He lost to BJP candidate Rajeev Sharma in 2014 from Akhnoor when the saffron brigade won a historic 25 seats from Jammu region in the Assembly elections.