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BJP Jammu North candidate Sham Lal has assets worth crores, fleet of cars

BJP Jammu North candidate Sham Lal Sharma’s wealth has grown by crores in the past one decade to total at 17.7 crore

Updated on: Sep 10, 2024, 07:36:17 IST
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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.

BJP Jammu North candidate Sham Lal Sharma (HT)
BJP Jammu North candidate Sham Lal Sharma (HT)

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

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.

  • Ravi Krishnan Khajuria
    ABOUT THE AUTHOR
    Ravi Krishnan Khajuria

    A principal correspondent, Ravi Krishnan Khajuria is the bureau chief at Jammu. He covers politics, defence, crime, health and civic issues for Jammu city.