Lucknow: Prime Minister Narendra Modi's faithful bureaucrat Arvind Sharma, who took voluntary retirement from service earlier this week, joined the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in Lucknow on Thursday. As per party sources, Sharma could be one of the BJP candidates in the Vidhan Parishad polls in the state. Uttar Pradesh BJP chief Swatantra Dev Singh welcomed Sharma, who hails from Mau district and belongs to Bhumihar caste, into the party on Thursday.

Talking to reporters, Sharma said that he was happy to join the party and would work for the welfare of the people. He said that the party would benefit from Sharma's experience and expertise.

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.

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