Former Gujarat IAS officer who joined BJP will fight Uttar Pradesh MLC elections

Sharma sparked a flurry of speculations prior to joining the BJP, when he sought voluntary retirement last week, which then led to a buzz in the BJP circles that the former IAS officer may be sent to the Legislative Council.

Former Gujarat bureaucrat Arvind Kumar Sharma, who joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) just a day earlier, has been named as a candidate for the upcoming MLC elections in Uttar Pradesh on Friday.

Former IAS officer Arvind Kumar Sharma being greeted by UP BJP president Swatantra Dav Singh and deputy CM Dinesh Sharma as he joins the party, in Lucknow on Thursday. (PTI Photo)

Deputy chief Minister Dinesh Sharma and party state president Swatantra Dev Singh are also on the list of candidates that was announced on Friday.

Sharma sparked a flurry of speculations prior to joining the BJP, when he sought voluntary retirement last week, which then led to a buzz in the BJP circles that the former IAS officer may be sent to the Legislative Council. His resignation had led to speculations on a possible role he may secure in Uttar Pradesh politics as the state heads towards the 2022 Assembly elections.

The central government accepted his voluntary retirement plea on Monday, when the BJP state unit was busy finalising names of candidates for the biennial election to 12 seats in the UP Legislative Council.

There is also speculation that Sharma may be inducted in the UP cabinet as he will be considered as a candidate for an important position in the central government, the senior leader said.

A 1988-batch IAS officer, Sharma hails from the Mau district in eastern UP. Sharma had worked with PM Modi from 2001 to 2020. He initially worked in the Gujarat chief minister's office and later in the PMO.

Sharma held top positions in the Gujarat government when Narendra Modi was the state’s chief minister. Later, he moved to the Prime Minister’s Office after Modi became the Prime Minister in 2014, a BJP leader said.

Before taking voluntary retirement, he was handling affairs in MSME (micro small and medium enterprises), a crucial department that was working on PM Modi’s plan for revival of the economy post Covid lockdown.