PM Modi's trusted ex-bureaucrat Arvind Kumar Sharma joins BJP

Former IAS office Arvind Kumar Sharma, who opted for for voluntary retirement from the service, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) on Thursday.

The 1988 batch IAS officer is considered Prime Minister Narendra Modi's trusted bureaucrat. He took voluntary retirement as MSME secretary on Monday. Sharma worked with Narendra Modi in Gujarat when latter was the Chief Minister.

Sharma joined the saffron party in Lucknow. The Gujarat cadre IAS officer hails from Mau district in Uttar Pradesh.

BJP spokesperson Chandra Mohan said that Sharma had expressed his desire to work for the party and joined the party.

Sharma joined the BJP at a time the party is finalising candidates for elections to the 12 seats of the Legislative Council on January 28. The last date for filing of nominations is January 18. Sharma could be one of the BJP candidates in the Vidhan Parishad polls in the state.

Sharma joined Modi as the Secretary in October 2001. He continued to work with him in the PMO from 2014 onward as well and took over as the MSME secretary in April 2020. A low-profile officer, Sharma is known for delivering time-bound results.

He earned Modi's trust as the secretary in his CMO and successfully handled the 'Vibrant Gujarat' campaign to get investment to the state. He served in his PMO for six years.