Vijay Sharma

He was fielded by the BJP from Kawardha in this election, where he defeated sitting MLA and minister Mohammad Akbar of the Congress by around 30,000 votes. Akbar had won the seat in 2018 by a margin of over 59,000 votes, the highest in that election.

Ahead of the election, Sharma had told The Indian Express, “The biggest issue is the politics of Akbar due to which people are living in fear and terror. They (Congress) have misused the law though he is law minister. People have called me and said they will support me. The biggest public issue of Kawardha is its fight for self-respect and a war of liberation to end terror. It never saw curfew, use of tear gas. So many people went to jail while many others were lathi charged.”

Sharma holds a Masters in Computer Application (MCA) degree along with a diploma in English. He is currently a BJP general secretary. His political journey began in 1989 when he became an ABVP member. In 2016, he was appointed as the state BJYM president.

Sharma’s electoral career began as a Zilla Panchayat member in Kabirdham in 2020, prior to which his wife served in the same position.

He had been a lecturer in three colleges, including an engineering college, and had worked in two companies in the telecom sector.

Sharma has a farming business. He has played cricket at state-level and his other hobbies include poetry writing.