Vishnu Dutt Sharma appointed new chief of BJP''s MP unit

BJP's Madhya Pradesh general secretary and MP from Khajuraho, Vishnu Dutt Sharma, was

appointed as the state unit chief of the party on Saturday. BJP national general secretary Arun Singh made this

announcement in an official communique. "BJP chief honourable Jagat Prakash Nadda ji has

appointed Shri Vishnu Dutt Sharma as the president of the Madhya Pradesh unit," it said.

With this, Sharma (49) has replaced Rakesh Singh, believed to be a trusted lieutenant of Union Home Minister and

former BJP chief Amit Shah. Speculations were rife in the state BJP that Rakesh

Singh, an MP from Jabalpur, might get another term. He had last month organised a grand Pro-Citizenship (Amendment) Act

rally in his constituency, which was attended by Amit Shah. However, the BJP leadership picked Sharma for the

post, a move that has come as a surprise to many. Sharma, who is popularly known as V D, is a staunch

follower of the RSS. He is credited for strengthening the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP), the students' wing

of the RSS, in Madhya Pradesh in 1990s. Sharma, who was the national general secretary of the

ABVP, had joined the BJP in 2013. With Sharma's appointment, the BJP leadership has

given yet another key post to a Brahmin leader in Madhya Pradesh after Gopal Bhargava, who is the Leader of Opposition

in the state assembly.

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)