Himachal MP Ram Swaroop Sharma found dead in Delhi

NEW DELHI: Two-time Bharatiya Janata Party MP Ram Swaroop Sharma, 62, from Mandi in Himachal Pradesh was found dead on Wednesday at his official residence here under mysterious circumstances, police said.

In the 2019 Lok Sabha elections, low profile, soft spoken Sharma defeated Congress candidate Ashray Sharma, 32, the grandson of former Telecommunications Minister Sukh Ram in his electoral debut.

He was known for his proximity to Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur and was long associated with the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

He was quite active on Twitter. The last time he tweeted was on March 14.

In the 2014 Lok Sabha elections, Sharma defeated sitting Congress MP Pratibha Singh -- wife of six-time Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh with a big margin.

Three days back he got the first dose of vaccination of Covid-19.

Mandi is one of the country's largest parliamentary constituencies comprising Kullu, Mandi and some areas of Chamba and Shimla districts, besides the tribal-dominated Assembly seats of Kinnaur and Lahaul and Spiti.