Satish Sharma: An independent who withstood BJP in Jammu

Jammu, Oct 16: Trust with politics was a “roller-coaster ride” for Satish Sharma, an independent MLA, who was among five ministers administered Oath of Office and Secrecy as part of Chief Minister Omar Abdullah’s cabinet on Wednesday.

His inclusion in the cabinet was marked by two distinctions. One - he is among two Hindu faces in Omar’s cabinet, representing the Jammu region.

Second, Satish was among only two candidates and that too both independents, who successfully withstood the onslaught of the saffron wave that swept through the Jammu region in the third phase of assembly elections.

Out of 24 seats that went to polls in the third phase in Jammu region, Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) won all but two – one captured by Satish Sharma as an independent in Chhamb in Jammu district and another in Bani in Kathua district won by another independent candidate Dr Rameshwar Singh.

In the 2024 assembly elections, Satish entered the electoral fray as a Congress rebel after he was denied a mandate.

In a major upset, he (Satish) defeated Bharatiya Janata Party’s Rajeev Sharma, with a margin of 6929 votes in a triangular contest. Satish had polled 39.09 percent of votes (33,985) while Congress’ official candidate, its J&K working president and former Deputy Chief Minister Tara Chand was relegated to the third slot with 16449 votes.

BJP and Congress candidates bagged 31.12 percent and 18.92 percent votes respectively.

It was a big setback for both Congress as well as for the former deputy chief minister, who represented Chhamb (then a reserved constituency) thrice in the J&K Legislative Assembly.

In fact, Satish’s tryst with politics is not something which can be described as an alien course to chart as he is among those politicians, who have inherited a rich legacy in the politics of J&K.

42-year-old Satish is the son of veteran Congress leader and former minister late Madan Lal Sharma, who represented Jammu-Poonch constituency twice in the Parliament from 2004-2014. Besides, he (Madan Lal Sharma) represented Congress in the J&K Legislative Assembly thrice as Chhamb (in 1983 and again in 1987) and Akhnoor MLA (in 2002) and also served as cabinet minister twice, first in 1988 and then again in 2002.

So indirectly, Satish has been actively associated with the electioneering process for his late father and uncle Sham Lal Sharma, also a former minister, but now with the BJP.

As far as electoral foray is concerned, Satish had earlier unsuccessfully contested from Bhalwal Brahmana constituency of the Khour assembly segment during the maiden District Development Council (DDC) elections, in J&K in 2020. Denied Congress mandate even then, he had contested as an independent.

In another setback, after a few days, Satish had lost his father. On December 23, 2020, during the COVID pandemic, Madan Lal Sharma passed away at the age of 68.

As he believed that he had a responsibility to take forward the rich political legacy of his father, he maintained his strong link with Congress.

Satish, during the 2024 assembly elections, yet again geared up for another electoral tryst.

Following delimitation, Akhnoor was declared a reserved constituency and the Chhamb assembly constituency was again made open to all, thus prompting Satish to seek a mandate from this segment. But again, he did not get a Congress mandate and then he decided to contest as an independent. This time he tasted success not only at the hustings but also secured entry in the cabinet, in an unbelievable manner.

“I extend my greetings as well as my gratitude to Chief Minister Omar Abdullah Sahib for giving Jammu its rightful due, rather more than it was due. Now we will fill this wider gulf created between Kashmir and Jammu regions. At the same time, I also take this opportunity to caution the communal forces, which always try to divide people and don’t leave any opportunity to widen this chasm that they should refrain from pursuing their nefarious divisive designs,” was Satish’s first reaction after taking oath on Wednesday.

An LLB graduate from Dogra Law College, affiliated with Jammu University, Satish procured his MBA degree from the University of Wales Institute, Cardiff in 2008. His wife is an Associate Professor in the Department of Economics at Jammu University.

“This (divisive politics) is not good. We all are one. Whether we come from Jammu or Kashmir, we all belong to J&K and we share the same problems,” he said.

Enlisting his priorities as a minister from Jammu as well as those of the new government, Satish said, “Now Jammu will get its due rights vis-a-vis employment, tourism. Traders or more appropriately the business community will get what they aspired for all these years. This will also defeat that fake narrative, which our opponents are trying to build that the mandate was divided, one-sided (one-sided for NC in Kashmir and ditto for BJP in the Jammu region). Equitable representation to Jammu in Omar Abdullah’s cabinet is a slap on those propagating that narrative.”

After the oath-taking ceremony, did he meet senior Congress leader and the Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, who too along with her sibling Priyanka Gandhi Vadra and AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge specially came Wednesday morning to attend the swearing-in ceremony at SKICC, Srinagar?

Satish’s reply to this pointed query came in affirmation. “Yes, I wished him and told him that my late father Madan Lal Sharma used to be his (Rahul’s) colleague. I also told him that the Gandhi family had always been a source of inspiration for his (Madan Lal Sharma’s) family. The latter (the Sharma family) owed a lot to the Gandhi family for its political growth in J&K. My late father Madan Lal Sharma was very grateful to Indiraji (Indira Gandhi), and Rajivji (Rajiv Gandhi). This was sad that I could not get the same love or win their (Gandhis’) confidence. I did not get (Congress) mandate and I was forced to contest as an independent,” he said.

“Nevertheless, I will always be very grateful to Omar Abdullah Sahib for giving an opportunity to an independent to be part of his cabinet and serve the people. This is the first time that Jammu has been given its due and equitable share. My constituency has got representation, which means Jammu has got representation. Besides, the Rajouri-Poonch area has got representation in this cabinet in an unbelievable manner. My colleague, Surinder Chowdhary, who is like an elder brother to me, has been assigned the responsibility of Deputy Chief Minister. This is a big deal for us,” Satish said responding to media queries.

When asked about his priorities, he said, “I pray and seek the Almighty’s blessings. I also pray that the power should not affect my sanity. I very well know that power breeds contempt and makes a person an autocrat. That should not happen.”

“This is democracy which brought change for good. In any case, change is the spice of life. I congratulate the people of J&K that they have elected a good and stable government which will be their voice and will serve them,” he said.

“I believe that the central government will very soon restore all our rights, including our statehood, snatched from us. Our Prime Minister, the Union Home Minister made a promise to us. We are confident that they will walk their talk and that too very soon. We will pursue our struggle for our rights under the leadership of our Chief Minister Omar Abdullah. I don’t think we will have to wait for another five years to get what we’ve lost. Let’s hope that good sense prevails,” he answered when asked about Omar’s statement that J&K would have to wait for a change of guard at the Centre to get back what was snatched from them on August 5, 2019.

He lauded Chief Minister Omar Abdullah as a “secular man, with a development-oriented vision.”

“He is the one individual who seeks solutions to problems; he works and executes his vision. I salute him for that spirit. Yes, there are many challenges. We will have to hit roads to get back statehood. We want tourism projects, tunnels, roads and railway connectivity up to Chhamb, Akhnoor. We will try to implement everything whatever we have promised in our manifestoes,” he enlisted challenges ahead.