Mandi in shock over MP Ram Swaroop Sharma’s sudden death

People rushed to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Ramswaroop Sharma’s residence at Japlehar village in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi as the news of his death in Delhi broke on Wednesday

People rushed to Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) lawmaker Ramswaroop Sharma’s residence at Japlehar village in Himachal Pradesh’s Mandi as the news of his death in Delhi broke on Wednesday. His sons left for Delhi as condolences poured in on social media.

**EDS: FILE PHOTO** New Delhi: In this March 6, 2018 file photo, BJP MP from Mandi Ram Swaroop Sharma. Sharma was found dead at his residence in the national capital on Wednesday, March 17, 2021. (PTI Photo/Manvender Vashist) (PTI03_17_2021_000021B) (PTI)

Chief minister Jai Ram Thakur said: “It is a very sad day for all of us. Sharma was very popular among the masses and the party. He was with us 4-5 days back and had assured that he would campaign in the Municipal Corporation election in Mandi.” He added Sharma, 62, was not in good health for quite some time. “It is a great loss for me personally and for the party as well.”

Born on June 10, 1958, Sharma worked as a supervisor in the National Hydro Power Corporation before he quit his job in 1984 to join the BJP’s ideological fountainhead, the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He later moved to the BJP. Sharma was known to keep a low-profile leader. He first came into prominence when he was chosen to take on Congress’s Pratibha Singh in the 2014 national polls. He won the election by a margin of 40,000 votes. He was re-elected to Lok Sabha in 2019 defeating Congress’s Aashray Sharma by over 40,00,00 votes.