He is the Executive Director of Dale Carnegie’s training operations in India. He is also a writer, public speaker, and former national spokesperson of the Indian National Congress (INC). Apart from this, he has vast experience in various fields including entrepreneurship, sales management, and political communication.
Contents
Wiki/Biography
Sanjay Jha was born in Gangtok, Sikkim; however, his ancestors hail from Bihar. He completed his schooling at The Bishop’s School, Pune, in 1974. Since his school days, Sanjay was an all-rounder. Not only was he good at sports but also excelled at studies and won several prizes and awards for his academic excellence and proficiency. He graduated with distinction in Economics from Fergusson College, Pune in 1980. While studying at Fergusson College, Sanjay was also elected as the head of the Dramatics Society. He did post-graduation in Economics from Gokhale Institute of Politics and Economics, University of Pune, and then a PhD in Economics from Patna University. He also did an MBA in HR from XLRI – Xavier School of Management, Jamshedpur in 1986 and then ventured into the corporate world, and later into politics.
Family
Parents & Siblings
His father, Diwakar Jha, was a professor. His elder brother, Vibhuti Jha, is principal at a corporate firm, Ashcroft Sullivan & Jha.
Sanjay Jha (left) with his elder brother, Vibhuti Jha
Wife & Children
Sanjay Jha is married to Pallavi Jha, Chairperson and MD of Walchand PeopleFirst Ltd.
Sanjay Jha with his wife
The couple has two daughters, Maithili Jha and Mohini Jha.
Corporate Career
Sanjay Jha started his career in the sales department at Bharat Petroleum and worked there for two years. He worked as a vice president at Alliance Capital, a mutual fund company, from 1993 to 1996. He then worked at another mutual funds company, ITC Threadneedle plc, as the senior vice-president for a year. While working there, he contributed to the launch of a joint investment mutual fund company in partnership with BAT plc, London. His interest in sports encouraged him to launch a cricket news web portal CricketNext.com in 2000. The venture was later sold to Network 18 Media Group in 2012. In 2003, he joined Dale Carnegie, a platform for personal & professional training, as the Executive Director of its operations in India. He is in charge of the Business Strategy, Market development, building reputational capital, and attaining financial goals and metrics for the company.
Political Career
Sanjay Jha, a Gandhi-Nehruvian idealist, joined the Indian National Congress in 2012. He served as a national spokesperson for the Indian National Congress (INC) from 2013 to 2020 and represented the party in various TV debates and panel discussions.
He was ousted from his post of the national spokesperson of INC in June 2020, a few days after Sanjay’s opinion piece, criticising INC’s leadership and inner-democracy, was published in an English daily, The Times of India.
INC COMMUNIQUE
Important Notification pic.twitter.com/fnXef53B7A
— INC Sandesh (@INCSandesh) June 17, 2020
He also served as the president of the All India Professionals’ Congress (Maharashtra) for three years, before resigning from the post in July 2020.
I have submitted my resignation wef as President, AlPC, Maharashtra.
My political outspokenness conflicts with my official position. I am glad my signature #AIPCInteractive brand is being used by the Congress. 🙂@ShashiTharoor is a delight to work with. Thanks all!
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) July 3, 2020
On 14 July 2020, he was suspended from the primary membership of the Indian National Congress (INC) for “anti-party activities” and “breach of discipline.”
Shri Sanjay Jha has been suspended from the Congress Party with immediate effect for anti-party activities and breach of discipline. pic.twitter.com/TaT0gWbCc7
— Maharashtra Congress (@INCMaharashtra) July 14, 2020
Controversies
Sanjay Jha has been engrossed in numerous controversies, and most of them have been due to his political posts on social media. Here are a few of them.
- On 25 April 2014, Sanjay Jha posted a tweet alleging that Subramanian Swamy was a CIA agent after a WikiLeaks revelation said that Swamy had reported to a US diplomat about Indira Gandhi’s deteriorating health in 1977. Rubbishing Jha’s allegations and WikiLeaks report against him, Swamy filed a 3 crore defamation lawsuit against Sanjay Jha. In response to Swamy’s lawsuit, Jha extended an unconditional apology to Swami for calling Swamy a CIA agent with no valid evidence to back his claim. [1]Zee News
- In November 2017, Sanjay Jha retweeted a Twitter post that comprised a morphed picture of a police officer kneeling before the BJP leader Rajnath Singh. Sanjay deleted the post and apologised for the same after he was heavily trolled on the internet. [2]Alt News
- On 28 March 2019, Sanjay Jha posted a derogatory tweet about the BJP leader, Narendra Modi. Consequently, the post drew wide criticism and Sanjay Jha faced a heavy backlash on the internet for passing the sexiest jibe at Narendra Modi.
He has white hair. But he sounds more like a blonde.
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) March 28, 2019
Publications
- 11 Triumphs, Trials and Turbulence: Indian cricket, 2003-2010
The book showcases some of the best events in the game of cricket (between 2003 and 2010) including marvellous wins, heartbreaking failures, controversies, wicked politics in the sport, India’s victory in the 2007 T20 World Cup, and the rise of IPL.
Cover of 11 Triumphs, Trials and Turbulence: Indian cricket, 2003-2010 by Sanjay Jha
- Superstar Syndrome (The Making of a Champion)
The book is penned by Dr. Myra S. White, a professor at the Harvard Medical School, in collaboration with Sanjay Jha. It is an in-depth evaluation of different aspects that explains and validates the qualities that almost every successful person possesses.
Cover of Superstar Syndrome by Dr. Myra S. White and Sanjay Jha
- The Great Unravelling: India After 2014
In 2014, the BJP government in India came to power at the centre with a thumping majority. The book describes the new political reality of India and how, in Sanjay’s view, India has witnessed a severe change with the BJP’ governance and has rapidly shifted away from the idea of Nehru’s secular, liberal, and scientific India. The book talks about many unpleasant things including India’s shrinking economic growth, public institutions such as the courts and media surrendering in front of the saffron party, the minorities, primarily the Muslims, being constantly reminded of their irrelevance in India, and much more. While all of this is happening, Indian National Congress, the oldest Indian political party, has lost the oppositional ability and is uncertain about its future; however, Sanjay is still hopeful and believes that the Congress party will emerge again and will bring a progressive political change that will eventually revive India.
Cover of The Great Unravelling: India After 2014 by Sanjay Jha
Author of three books, Sanjay frequently writes articles for several prominent media houses including Huffington Post, National Herald, and the Daily O of the India Today Group.
Facts/Trivia
- Sanjay inclined towards drama during his college days. He also headed the college dramatic group in his graduation and post-graduation days.
- Along with working in the corporate world, Sanjay has also transitioned himself as a motivational public speaker. He is known for his high-quality training and leadership talks.
Sanjay Jha addressing the delegates at the 4th edition of VHNUM
- Even after being removed from the post of the national spokesperson of the INC, Sanjay Jha, a Gandhi-Nehruvian idealist, describes himself as a Congressi by DNA. [3]Sanjay Jha Twitter According to Sanjay Jha, his commitment to the INC from the beginning has been nothing but the foundational ideology of the party.
My loyalty is to the Congress ideology. My fidelity is not to any individual or family.
I remain a Gandhi-Nehruvian idealist ( a vanishing breed within Congress). I will continue to raise issues that are fundamental to the resurgence of my party.
The battle has just begun.
— Sanjay Jha (@JhaSanjay) July 15, 2020
- Sanjay Jha is an athletic person and is often spotted indulging himself in different sports. He is a fine tennis player.
Sanjay Jha posing with his runner-up trophy that he won at the Willingdon Club Memorial Tennis Tournament 2019
- He is a dog lover. He often posts adorable pictures with his four-legged friends on his social media account.
Sanjay Jha with his dog, Miso
