Ex-IAS officer Arvind Kumar Sharma’s political plunge in Uttar Pradesh fuels speculations

LUCKNOW: The entry of a retired IAS officer Arvind Kumar Sharma in UP politics has triggered a barrage of speculations. That Sharma would be given a plum assignment is a foregone conclusion, considering his proximity to Prime Minister Narendra Modi, but what? The guessing game is on.
“Yogi is running his government smoothly and has consolidated the party position.Not only has he emerged as a star campaigner of the BJP, but has also managed to create a pan India image for himself. As the CM, Yogi’s image remains impeccable and unblemished. In the last four years, Yogi has never given any opportunity to the Opposition to accuse him of indulging in any scandal. To strengthen the party support base, he has promulgated ordinances to crack down on anti-CAA agitators and religious conversion,” says a political analyst.
“Now, when hardly a year has left for the Assembly elections in the state, what's the need for creating a new power centre in the state?” he asks.
While the insiders say that Sharma's vast experience in governance will help the BJP-led government in the year before the polls, the move no doubt has triggered rumour mills to flow freely in the state. As neither the party nor any of the government spokesmen has attempted to clarify the situation, rumour mongers are having a field day.
Even senior ministers are not ready to come on record on the issue. The general refrain is “If Modi has sent Sharma to Lucknow, it is not just to head a department, but to handle something bigger.”
A senior minister said that “there was no requirement of creating a new power centre in the state in the final year of the government.”