Vishal Sharma

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Vishal Sharma (born April 1974) is a youth leader in the BJP. He holds a double graduate degree in Physics & Computer Science. He was the Officer on Special Duty (Information) to Narendra Modi, the Chief Minister of Gujarat in 2001-2002. He was instrumental in developing the online citizen grievance mechanism of the Chief Minister's office called "Tele-fariad". However, he later resigned to be part of BJP's India Shining campaign led by Pramod Mahajan (now deceased). In the India Shinning Campaign, he was part of Pramod Mahajan's core team. Under Kulkarni, Sharma had attempted to highlight BJP's secular image through the Atal Bihari Vajpayee Himayat Committee. Vishal later served as Assistant Secretary to the then BJP President Mr. L.K. Advani. Sources rumour that Vishal Sharma had co-authored Advani's controversial Jinnah speech with Sudheendra Kulkarni. A charge that Sharma has been vehemently denying stating, "I had nothing to do with the speech", further adding, "Advaniji's speech must be read in its full context, and not sensationalized based on selective contexting".

Vishal Sharma has held various posts in the BJP's youth wing - the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha, and has represented the BJP on various national and international forums. When the NDA (National Democratic Alliance) was in power, he was appointed in 1999-2000 as Member of the State Co-ordinating Committee (Maharashtra & Goa) for the Vande Mataram Abhiyan of the Nehru Yuvak Kendra Sanghathan (NYKS). He was an invitee to the Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini & the Central Government's People Oriented Administrative Reforms' Conference. Vishal was a participant from Maharashtra to the Millennium Youth Parliament organized by the Government of India in 2000 when the BJP-led NDA was in power.

As a co-ordinator of the World Youth Council Against Terrorism (WYCAT) under the Chairmanship of G. Kishan Reddy, the former head of BJP's youth wing, Vishal represented the party in 2003 at the 3rd International Conference on Counter-Terrorism in Herzilya Pituah (ISRAEL) organized by International Policy Institute for Counter Terrorism (ICT), wherein Vishal actively advocated the urgent need for the western world to pay more serious attention to the sufferings of the people of India at the hands of International cross-border terrorism.

Vishal has written a paper on counter-terrorism operations titled, "Non-lethal sedatives to resolve hostage situations". Vishal is also a Salzburg Alumni. Ironically in 2005, while the Chief Minister of Gujarat Mr. Narendra Modi was denied a U.S. visa, Vishal Sharma was invited by the U.S. Department of State as a guest of the U.S. government for the International Visitor Leadership Program as a BJP representative. As part of this program, he interacted with local U.S. religious and political groups in Washington D.C., Jackson (Mississippi), Salt Lake City (Utah), Omaha-Lincoln (Nebraska), and Chicago (Illinois).

Vishal Sharma has written extensively in his columns with the Free Press Journal, Pioneer, and the Times of India on issues relating to India and security related issues. His writings have received wide appreciation. Vishal was involved in the BJP's re-election bid for the Gujarat State Elections held in December 2007. In Gujarat, Vishal Sharma devised and implemented a massive Assembly-to-assembly constituency survey covering 100,000 respondents, and used the party's youth wing to make motorcycle teams and go from village-to-village to do grass-root information dessimination for Narendra Modi in each and every of Gujarat's villages. Media sources state that Sharma had used the party's youth wing to distribute in huge quantities the famous "Modi Mask" in all of Gujarat's 18,000 villages, and was part of the secretive election co-ordination committee in Gujarat answerable only and reporting directly to Narendra Modi himself.

Sureshbhai Mehta, a former Chief Minister of Gujarat, and the then BJP dissident had accused Vishal Sharma of being Narendra Modi's "one-man parliamentary board deciding party tickets". Sharma was also accused of calling senior party leaders from the state, and asking them to report to him on the winnability of prospective candidates. Sharma denied any involvement in the party's ticket distribution and denied influencing any leader on this issue. Instead, he added that the media was crucifying him for no reason on this issue. Sureshbhai Mehta subsequently quit the BJP. Even Gujarat BJP strongman and Modi-baiter Keshubhai Patel expressed his displeasure due to Sharma's presence in Gujarat questioning why Modi had trusted a non-Gujarati man with the job.

The BJP in Gujarat used technology to its maximum advantage. The opposition alleged that Sharma was infringing the Election Commission's guidelines by using technology to release censored political material through alternate media. The Times of India quotes Sharma as saying, "Laws always follow technology, but technology will always remain a step ahead of the law." He was also accused of misusing the government and police machinery for aiding the political activities of the BJP. Sharma denied these stating that these were baseless propaganda being spread by the opposition to defame him, and further stating that he had the highest regards for the Election Commission of India and its guidelines.

Vishal Sharma's statement in the Times of India on December 8th 2007, "in the coming days, Narendrabhai is undoubtedly the frontrunner for the PM seat." created a furore in the party. Two days later, on December 10th 2007, the BJP announced L.K. Advani as its Prime Ministerial Candidate. Sharma denied ever having given such a statement, and said that he was mischievously misquoted out of context, adding instead, "Narendrabhai has no intentions of becoming PM, but he would rather concentrate on Gujarat's development" further adding, "The Advani-Modi-BJP 2009 Tornado" shall blow away the Congress Party led UPA."

Vishal has been associated with Narendra Modi since the latter's days in Delhi as General Secretary in-charge for the youth wing of the BJP.