Sharma's political talent was first noticed by former Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee. Like many politicians in the Bharatiya Janata Party, Sharma began his political career with the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad, the student wing of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh. He was later named the state President of the BJP's Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (Youth Wing).[1] Sharma was subsequently elected as Mayor of Lucknow in 2006. He stood for re-election in 2012 and defeated his nearest rival, Neeraj Bora of the Indian National Congress by over 171,000 votes.[2]
On 16 August 2014 he became the National Vice-President of Bharatiya Janata Party, following his contribution to the party's success in the 2014 Lok Sabha elections. On 19 March 2017, he was appointed one of two Deputy Chief Ministers of Uttar Pradesh. He is not an elected member of the Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly. He was elected for Legislative Council (Upper House) on 9 September 2017.
He was allocated the ministries of Higher and Secondary Education, Science and Technology, Electronics and IT departments.[3][4]
In March 2022, Sharma was replaced by Brajesh Pathak as the new Deputy Chief Minister of Uttar Pradesh.[5]
Sharma was named as the BJP candidate for the by-election to a Rajya Sabha seat from Uttar Pradesh in 2023 which he won unopposed and became Member of Parliament.[6][7]
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