BJP retains Shrikant Sharma as Himachal in-charge, UP’s Darshana Singh as co-in-charge

Shimla, Sep 23 (IANS) The national leadership of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), while announcing organisational appointments, on Wednesday retained Shrikant Sharma, the legislator from Mathura, as the party’s in-charge for Himachal Pradesh.

Meanwhile, Darshana Singh, a Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh, was appointed co-in-charge of the state BJP. Additionally, BJP MLA Reena Kashyap from the Pachhad Assembly constituency in Himachal has been given an important organisational responsibility as co-in-charge of the Jammu and Kashmir BJP.

In the national-level list, Dr Satish Poonia has been appointed as the BJP’s in-charge for Jammu and Kashmir.

Shrikant Sharma, a former energy minister of Uttar Pradesh, has held several organisational and media-related responsibilities in the party, including serving as the party’s national secretary and handling key responsibilities in its national media setup.

During the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, Sharma was appointed the BJP’s election in-charge for Himachal Pradesh and was subsequently given the permanent responsibility of state in-charge. The BJP won all four Lok Sabha seats in Himachal Pradesh in the 2024 general elections.

Darshana Singh, who has been appointed co-in-charge of Himachal Pradesh, is a Rajya Sabha member from Uttar Pradesh. Her first term in the Upper House began on July 5, 2022. She is a postgraduate. She began her active political career in 2008 and became president of the Mahila Morcha in Chandauli district in 2011, a member of the state executive of the Mahila Morcha in 2013, the party’s Kashi region secretary in 2015 and president of the BJP Mahila Morcha in Uttar Pradesh in 2018. She has also served as national vice-president of the BJP Mahila Morcha. Before entering politics, she worked with the Allahabad centres of All India Radio and Doordarshan. She holds a postgraduate degree in history.

Himachal lawmaker Reena Kashyap, who represents Pachhad in Sirmaur district, has been given the responsibility of co-in-charge of Jammu and Kashmir.

The organisational list names Poonia as the Jammu and Kashmir in-charge and Kashyap as co-in-charge.

Kashyap was first elected as an MLA from Pachhad in an October 2019 assembly bypoll. She retained the seat in the December 2022 Assembly elections.

The appointments give Himachal BJP’s organisational leadership responsibilities at the national level, with Sharma continuing in the state and Kashyap taking up an organisational role in Jammu and Kashmir, said the state BJP unit.

It congratulated Sharma, Darshana Singh and Reena Kashyap on their new responsibilities and thanked the national leadership for the appointments.

–IANS

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