BJP names former IAS officer AK Sharma its MLC candidate in UP

NEW DELHI: Former IAS officer Arvind Kumar Sharma, considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was on Friday named BJP's candidate for the upcoming legislative council polls in Uttar Pradesh.

Sharma had joined the BJP on Thursday, days after he opted for voluntary retirement from the IAS.

There is a strong possibility that Sharma after his election as a legislator will be given a key position in the state government led by Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath, sources have said.

A Gujarat cadre officer hailing from Uttar Pradesh, Sharma had long been one of the trusted bureaucrats of Modi since his tenure as Gujarat chief minister.

He also served in key positions in the PMO after Modi became prime minister in 2014.

Besides Sharma, the BJP also named Deputy Chief Minister Dinesh Sharma, its state president Swatantra Dev Sing and Lakshman Prasad Acharya as its candidates for the polls.

Polling for 12 legislative council seats in Uttar Pradesh will be held on January 28.

In the 100-member UP Legislative Council, the SP has 55 MLCs, BJP has 25 MLCs, BSP has eight MLCs, Congress and 'Nirdaliye Samooh' have two MLCs each and Apna Dal (S) and 'Shikshak Dal' have one MLC each.

There are three independent MLCs and three seats are vacant.