Railway Minister Piyush Goyal gifts a special train to UP’s latest MLC

Politicians and bureaucrats alike in Lucknow are making a beeline to receive the blessings of Arvind Kumar Sharma, a former IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre who resigned from service to join the BJP and has been made a Member of the Legislative Council in Uttar Pradesh.

A tweet by Railway Minister Piyush Goyal that following a request made by Sharma, Indian Railways is happy to introduce a special train between New Delhi and Mau has added to the former bureaucrat’s clout and mystique. Sharma belongs to Mau and has worked closely with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in both Gujarat and in New Delhi.

Speculation is rife that he will soon be inducted into the state cabinet. BJP legislators believe Sharma has been brought in with a special mission ahead of the Assembly election due in April next year. Some sections are convinced he is going to be made Deputy Chief Minister and one of the two current deputies moved as chairman of the Legislative Council when the post falls vacant at the end of January.

Others say that since Sharma has the experience of working with industry, his expertise will be used to generate employment schemes ahead of the election. Sharma was Secretary to GOI in the MSME department. “I got a call and was asked to join the party and I did,” Sharma said after filing papers for Legislative Council. But he did not specify who had asked him to join the party. “This is an election year and the party would like to create an impact in the last few months. So, watch out,” said a BJP law maker.