PM’s Aide AK Sharma Made UP BJP Vice President

Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP) Uttar Pradesh state unit on Saturday appointed its state MLC A K Sharma, a former IAS officer who is known to be close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, as its state vice president.

BJP UP state president Swatantra Dev Singh made the announcement of the new appointment.

In an official statement, Singh also announced the appointments of Archana Mishra from Lucknow and Amit Valmiki from Bulandshahr as secretaries of the state unit.

Known for delivering time-bound results, Sharma earned Modi's confidence as his secretary during his tenure as the Gujarat chief minister by successfully handling the Vibrant Gujarat campaign to get investments to the state.

He was also handling the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) ministry’s affairs, a crucial department working under the prime minister's plan for the revival of the economy following the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.

Sharma did his schooling from the Mau district in eastern Uttar Pradesh and post-graduation from Allahabad University.

(PTI inputs)