Lucknow: Former Indian Administrative Service (IAS) officer Arvind Kumar Sharma has been appointed as the vice-president of Uttar Pradesh Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP).
This brings to an end to speculations that Sharma, considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, would get a bigger responsibility in Uttar Pradesh ahead of next year’s assembly polls in the politically crucial state.
There were earlier speculations that the 1988 batch IAS officer, who has been associated with Prime Minister Modi since he became the chief minister of Gujarat in 2001, would be inducted in Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s Cabinet.
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Sharma, who had resigned from the administrative service to join the BJP earlier in January this year, was the Union Secretary of MSME Department before taking a plunge into politics.
The announcement in this regard was made by Uttar Pradesh BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh, who had earlier met the party top brass in the national capital.
The Uttar Pradesh BJP chief also announced that Archana Mishra and Amit Valmiki have been appointed as ministers (organization) for Lucknow Bulandshahr, respectively.
Earlier last week, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had called on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP president Jagat Prakash Nadda during his two-day visit to the national capital.