Former bureacrat and a close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, AK Sharma, has been appointed as the vice president of the BJP in Uttar Pradesh, amid talks of friction in the party’s state unit.

Sharma, MLC and former IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, is considered to be among the trusted hands of Prime Minister Modi and had worked with him in Gujarat.

He had joined the BJP in January this, days after he opted for voluntary retirement from the IAS.

Earlier, speculations were rife that Sharma could be inducted into the UP government in a possible Cabinet expansion or reshuffle ahead of next year’s Assembly elections.

The BJP MLC from Mau had recently visited Delhi to meet party leaders and allies, setting off speculation that he could get a ministerial berth in the state Cabinet. He was also sent to Varanasi – PM Modi’s Lok Sabha constituency – in April to handle the fight against COVID-19.

The BJP recently held a series of review meetings in Lucknow, which had fuelled speculation of a ministerial reshuffle in the state. BJP general secretary (organisation) BL Santhosh was in Uttar Pradesh earlier this month to review the party’s preparations for the 2022 Assembly elections and held meetings with key ministers and party leaders to hear their concerns.

Last week, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath had met PM Modi in Delhi amid talks of Cabinet expansion and also dissent in the Uttar Pradesh BJP unit over the state government’s handling of the COVID-19 situation.

The Chief Minister had also met BJP’s top brass, including party chief JP Nadda and Union Home Minister Amit Shah during his two-day visit to Delhi.

“The meetings have everything to do with strategising on how to win the crucial state along with sending message to the state leadership that Yogi will remain face in upcoming Assembly elections,” a senior BJP leader was quoted as saying by ANI.