LUCKNOW: A day after he was drafted into BJP, PM Narendra Modi’s trusted bureaucrat Arvind Kumar Sharma was named candidate for the legislative council elections scheduled later this month, lending credence to speculation that the former Gujarat cadre IAS officer is tipped to play a crucial role in the UP government in coming days.
Besides Sharma, BJP announced names of its UP unit chief Swatantra Dev Singh, deputy chief minister Dinesh Sharma and party’s state vicepresident, Laxman Acharya, for the legislative council. The trio’s candidature for a second consecutive term shows BJP’s continuing strategy to strike a caste balance. While Swatantra Dev happens to be an OBC, Sharma is a Brahmin and Laxman Acharya a Dalit.
Sources said, BJP’s central election committee firmed up its decision on Sharma, a native of Mau district and a Bhumihar by caste, immediately after he formally joined the saffron brigade in Lucknow on Thursday. Much significance is attached to his nomination to the upper house with analysts citing Sharma’s presence on UP’s political turf as a defining moment in BJP’s strategy for 2022 assembly elections.
The party, however, kept names of other candidates close to its chest amid speculation the party may send some key organisational leaders to the upper house of assembly.