Nadda appoints Pathankot MLA Ashwani Sharma as Punjab unit's working president

Indian Express

7 hours ago

The Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Monday appointed Ashwani Kumar Sharma, an MLA from Pathankot, as the working president of its state unit. BJP national president J P Nadda made the appointment.
Sharma, 61, is a seasoned party leader who has served as the state BJP president twice in the past — from February 2010 to January 2013 — and again from January 2020 to July 2023. His role as state BJP chief was under scanner during his last stint as it was a time when farm laws were passed by the central government, which led to major agitation, with Punjab being the epicentre of protest. State BJP leaders were at the receiving end of the Punjab farmers. In September 2020, the SAD also parted its ways with the BJP over the now repealed farm laws.
While Sharma takes over as the working president, Sunil Jakhar continues to serve as the president of the Punjab BJP. Jakhar, who had joined BJP in May 2022 after quitting the Congress, was appointed state president in July 2023, succeeding Sharma. However, after the Lok Sabha polls, Jakhar had offered to resign, but the BJP high command did not accept his resignation.
Sources revealed that though Jakhar had become somewhat inactive for a few months, he continued to raise key issues concerning Punjab and was seen with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on multiple occasions — including at a family event in Delhi this March. In recent months, Jakhar has once again become more active in the state's political landscape.
Party insiders note that under BJP norms, a state president's term usually lasts three years, which means Jakhar's tenure is likely to continue till July 2026. Whether Sharma's appointment will lead to a change of guard remains to be seen. Interestingly, sources pointed out that the party has not traditionally had a working president in Punjab and only a state president used to be appointed.
The move gains significance as it comes at a time when the party's Punjab affairs in-charge, Vijay Rupani, tragically died in a plane crash in Ahmedabad last month, leaving that key post vacant.
The Pathankot MLA, a dedicated RSS member and a founder member of the BJP in Punjab, is being seen as a representative voice for the party's original cadre. A former member of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) — the BJP's student wing — during his college days in Pathankot, Sharma has served in multiple key roles including as general secretary of Punjab BJP from 2007 to 2010.
An experienced legislator, he won the Pathankot Assembly seat in 2012 and again in 2022, losing only once in 2017 to Congress's Amit Vij. Recently, he was also handling the campaign of BJP candidate Jiwan Gupta in the Ludhiana West bypoll where the party finished third.