Amid turmoil, PM Modi's aide, former IAS officer AK Sharma appointed BJP's UP vice president

Lucknow, June 19: Former IAS officer Arvind Kumar Sharma, considered close to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, was on Saturday named Uttar Pradesh BJP's Vice President amid reports of dissent in UP.

The name of the BJP MLAC from Mau, had been doing the rounds in the political corridors of Uttar Pradesh since his entry into politics in January. Rumours were rife that he might replace one of the two deputy chief ministers assisting Yogi Adityanath in the government.

In January, Sharma joined the party in the presence of state BJP president Swatantra Dev Singh and Deputy Chief Minister Dr Dinesh Sharma at the party headquarters in Lucknow.

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.