Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) leader and former Rajya Sabha member Shamsher Singh Manhas on Monday breathed his last after a prolonged illness at his residence in the Paloura area of Jammu city. He was 65. According to a BJP leader, Manhas was admitted to the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS) in New Delhi, but when his condition deteriorated, his family members brought him back to Jammu, and he breathed his last around 2:00 pm today. “He was suffering from a liver ailment and was also diabetic,” he said, adding the deceased leader would be cremated on Tuesday at 1 pm. Born on January 4, 1960, Manhas was a well-known face of the BJP in Jammu and Kashmir and started his political career with the RSS as its pracharak and remained so for a long time. He is also credited with reviving the right-wing politics in the erstwhile J&K state. He was elected to the Rajya Sabha from the region in February 2015 on a BJP ticket. In 2021, he retired from active politics. As the news of his demise spread, leaders from various political parties paid their respects to him. They recognised him as a dedicated politician who influenced the Indian political landscape.
