Former IAS officer AK Sharma, who is known to be a close aide of Prime Minister Narendra Modi, has been made the vice president of BJP in poll-bound Uttar Pradesh on Saturday, amid speculations that he would be given a ministerial role in the Yogi Adityanath cabinet.

Discussions regarding Sharma’s possible elevation to ministership in UP started after speculation that Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath may be in trouble over his government's handling of the pandemic, according to a report by ndtv.com. The BJP has ruled out any change in UP's leadership. However, Sharma was sent to Modi’s constituency Varanasi to review the Covid-19 situation there.

The announcement of the new appointment was made by the BJP state unit's president Swatantra Dev Singh.

In an official statement, Singh also announced the appointments of Archana Mishra from Lucknow and Amit Valmiki from Bulandshahr as secretaries of the state unit.

Known for delivering time-bound results, Sharma earned Modi's confidence as his secretary during his tenure as the Gujarat chief minister by successfully handling the Vibrant Gujarat campaign to get investments to the state.

He was also handling the MSME (micro, small and medium enterprises) ministry's affairs, a crucial department working under the prime minister's plan for the revival of the economy following the coronavirus-triggered lockdown.

The UP BJP chief, BJP national general secretary BL Santosh and the party's national chief JP Nadda in a meeting in Delhi on Saturday agreed to strengthen the party in UP ahead of the elections, according to reports.

They have recommended the appointment of a Dalit MP from UP as a minister in PM Modi's cabinet expansion at the centre, ndtv.com said quoting sources, adding they also discussed giving important responsibility to a Jat leader in UP.