Will%20a%20Narendra%20Modi%20appointed%20captain%20now%20steer%20the%20Uttar%20Pradesh%20ship%20under%20Yogi%20Adityanath%3F%20The%20question%20has%20been%20doing%20rounds%20ever%20since%20news%20broke%20out%20about%20Modi%27s%20most%20trusted%20bureaucrat%20opting%20for%20voluntary%20retirement%20and%20being%20formally%20inducted%20into%20the%20ruling%20party%20in%20UP.
AK%20Sharma%2C%20a%201988-%20batch%20IAS%20officer%20of%20the%20Gujarat%20cadre%2C%20has%20been%20attached%20with%20Modi%20for%20nearly%20two%20decades%20and%20was%20also%20in%20his%20personal%20secretariat%20when%20the%20latter%20became%20Gujarat%20chief%20minister%20for%20the%20first%20time%20in%202001.%20After%20remaining%20secretary%20to%20Gujarat%20CM%2C%20he%20went%20as%20joint%20secretary%20in%20the%20PMO%20when%20Modi%20rose%20to%20the%20top%20office%20in%202014.
On%20rising%20to%20the%20Secretary%u2019s%20position%2C%20he%20was%20entrusted%20with%20the%20charge%20of%20MSME%2C%20from%20where%20he%20chose%20to%20put%20in%20his%20papers%20and%20take%20a%20plunge%20into%20active%20politics%20from%20Uttar%20Pradesh%2C%20where%20he%20has%20his%20native%20home%20in%20a%20nondescript%20village%20of%20Mau%20district%20in%20the%20state%u2019s%20most%20backward%20Eastern%20belt.
%3Cstrong%3EAlso%20read%3A%3C/strong%3E%20%3Ca%20target%3D%22_blank%22%20rel%3D%22noopener%20noreferrer%22%20href%3D%22https%3A//opoyi.com/pro-love-jihad-lobby-of-ex-bureaucrats-rises-in-support-of-yogi-adityanath%22%3EPro%20%u2018love-jihad%u2019%20lobby%20of%20ex-bureaucrats%20rises%20in%20support%20of%20Yogi%20Adityanath%3C/a%3E
Speculation%20is%20now%20rife%20that%20Sharma%20would%20be%20among%20the%20ruling%20party%u2019s%20top%20nominees%20for%20the%20forthcoming%20Vidhan%20Parishad%20poll%20on%20January%2028.%20If%20the%20on-going%20rumours%20in%20the%20corridors%20of%20power%20were%20to%20be%20believed%2C%20Sharma%20would%20also%20be%20accorded%20a%20key%20slot%20in%20Yogi%20Adityanath%u2019s%20cabinet%2C%20entitling%20him%20to%20steer%20the%20affairs%20of%20governance.
Both%20political%20and%20bureaucratic%20circles%20were%20agog%20with%20rumours%20about%20this%20bureaucrat-turned-politician%u2019s%20likelihood%20of%20replacing%20one%20of%20the%20two%20deputy%20chief%20ministers%2C%20who%20were%20currently%20assisting%20Yogi%20Adityanath.
While%20no%20official%20confirmation%20was%20available%20on%20these%20issues%2C%20it%20was%20amply%20evident%20from%20the%20turn%20of%20events%20that%20Sharma%20was%20in%20for%20a%20significant%20role%20to%20oversee%20the%20working%20of%20the%20Yogi%20government%20during%20its%20last%20year%20in%20office.%20Yogi%20would%20be%20completing%20his%20five-year%20term%20in%20March%2C%202022%2C%20when%20the%20country%u2019s%20most%20populous%20state%20would%20go%20for%20the%20next%20vidhan%20sabha%20election.
It%20is%20%2Ctherefore%2C%20believed%20that%20if%20a%20space%20was%20being%20created%20for%20a%20nominee%20of%20the%20prime%20minister%2C%20the%20person%20would%20not%20remain%20limited%20to%20being%20a%20mere%20member%20of%20the%20upper%20house%20of%20the%20state%20legislature.%20Soon%20after%20being%20formally%20inducted%20into%20the%20party%20in%20the%20presence%20of%20state%20BJP%20chief%20Swatantra%20Dev%20Singh%20and%20deputy%20chief%20minister%20Dinesh%20Sharma%20on%20Thursday%20afternoon%2C%26nbsp%3B%20the%20ex%20bureaucrat%20from%20Gujarat%20made%20it%20a%20point%20to%20express%20his%20gratitude%20to%20the%20prime%20minister%20for%20giving%20him%20this%20opportunity.%20%u201CIf%20I%20am%20being%20given%20a%20place%20in%20politics%20without%20any%20background%20of%20a%20political%20family%20or%20any%20past%20experience%20in%20politics%2C%20it%20could%20not%20have%20been%20possible%20without%20the%20blessings%20of%20Narendra%20Modi%20saheb%2C%u201D%20he%20told%20a%20gathering%20at%20the%20UP%20BJP%20headquarters%20here%20today.%20He%2C%20however%2C%20refused%20to%20engage%20with%20the%20media.
%3Cstrong%3EAlso%20read%3A%20%3C/strong%3E%3Ca%20target%3D%22_blank%22%20rel%3D%22noopener%20noreferrer%22%20href%3D%22https%3A//opoyi.com/yogi-adityanath-spent-2020-in-affirming-his-brand-as-up-cm%22%3EYogi%20Adityanath%20spent%202020%20in%20affirming%20his%20brand%20as%20UP%20CM%3C/a%3E
That%20Sharma%20already%20enjoyed%20sufficient%20clout%20in%20the%20affairs%20of%20UP%2C%20had%20become%20visible%20when%20he%20was%20found%20to%20be%20instrumental%20in%20getting%20an%20IAS%20batch-mate%20of%20the%20UP%20cadre%20back%20in%20the%20mainstream%20after%20the%20officer%20had%20remained%20dumped%20in%20innocuous%20positions%20during%20the%20first%20three%20years%20of%20the%20Yogi%20regime.%20Significantly%2C%20ever%20since%20that%20bureaucrat%20has%20been%20back%20in%20the%20reckoning%2C%20he%20was%20proving%20himself%20as%20a%20major%20asset%20for%20the%20UP%20chief%20minister.%20His%20entire%20focus%20was%20on%20re-casting%20Yogi%u2019s%20image%20%u2013%26nbsp%3B%20from%20a%20religious%20rabble-rouser%20to%20a%20development-oriented%20leader%2C%20desperately%20trying%20to%20don%20the%20mantle%20of%20the%20country%u2019s%20top%20Hindutva%20icon%20after%20Modi.
Time%20will%20tell%20what%20role%20Sharma%20is%20finally%20assigned%20in%20the%20new%20scheme%20of%20things.%20However%2C%20it%20goes%20without%20saying%20that%20in%20days%20to%20come%2C%20he%20was%20going%20to%20be%20Modi%u2019s%20man%20Friday%2C%20calling%20the%20shots%20in%20the%20Yogi%20government.
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