Venod Sharma should have stumped many together with his silent entry into the parliamentary elections with the last-minute nomination of his youthful son, Kartikeya Sharma, 41, for the Rajya Sabha seat as an Independent candidate from Haryana, who finally received in a dramatic in a single day drama .

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Perfect election engineering, the backing of BJP-JJP MLAs and a cross-vote helped Sharma clinch an opportunity in lively politics, greater than a 12 months after his spouse, Shakti Rani Sharma, was elected as mayor of the Ambala Municipal Corporation.

Popularly often known as Pandit ji amongst native journalists, the previous Congressman confirmed how he ensured Shakti Rani’s win in 2020 regardless of being inactive in state politics after shedding the meeting elections below his outfit, the Haryana Jan Chetna Party (HJCP).

Kartikeya’s win has come as a shot within the arm for Sharma, who’s trying to develop his political fortunes principally after his elder son, Siddharth Vashishth, alias Manu Sharma, convicted within the Jessica Lal homicide case of 1999, walked out of Delhi’s Tihar Jail in June 2020.

Months to go for the municipal elections, Manu had then performed an essential function in his mom’s win, principally remaining within the background in his father’s shadow.

Balancing act by Sharma clan

At one time, there was apprehension that the Sharma clan would possibly give a tricky battle within the civic physique elections in state residence minister Anil Vij’s constituency, however now with the MC polls postponed in Ambala because of courtroom case, either side get extra time. It stays to be seen if Sharma merges his HJCP with the BJP.

Sharma and his spouse had unsuccessfully contested below their political entrance from Ambala City and Kalka constituencies in 2014, after Venod stop the Congress earlier than the 2014 Lok Sabha elections.

The occasion remained inactive within the 2019 meeting elections with each deciding to not contest, however on the final second assist to BJP candidate Aseem Goel in opposition to one other former congressman Nirmal Singh led to his victory.

Gaining floor in rural belt

Before the 2020 municipal elections, there have been sturdy rumors of Sharma becoming a member of the saffron occasion with officers confirming off the report, however he did not, for causes greatest identified to him. However, he prevented political commentary in opposition to the ruling authorities in the course of the farmers’ protest even after profitable the mayor’s seat and regardless of his occasion gaining many of the rural belt wards over the BJP.

“If he needed to hitch the BJP, he may have simply executed that after profitable the elections, however he did not. In the MC home conferences, the occasion offers nightmares to the BJP. There are not less than two years for the subsequent meeting elections and I do not assume any choice might be taken now. If he joins the BJP, it will likely be a debacle for the native management,” a celebration insider mentioned, requesting anonymity.