HYDERABAD: Official circles are abuzz with the talk of who will be the next top babu of the State.
Currently three names are doing rounds in official circles. Shekhar Prasad (SP) Singh, special chief secretary of panchayat Raj and rural development department, Shailendra Kumar (SK) Joshi, special chief secretary of irrigation department, and Binoy Kumar, 1983-batch officer, currently working in Ministry of Commerce and Industry on central deputation, are said to be frontrunners for the coveted post.
While SP Singh and Binoy Kumar are from Bihar, SK Joshi is from Uttar Pradesh.
According to sources, Binoy Kumar’s name may not be considered by the State government as he worked in the Chief Minister’s Officer (CMO) during N Kiran Kumar Reddy government in the erstwhile united Andhra Pradesh.
There is also a talk among Babus that if Joshi’s name is considered, he will be in office till the present government goes to Assembly polls in 2019.
Another senior IAS officer Pradeep Chandra, a 1982-batch officer, who is going to retire in December, is also in the race. That means, he will have only one month time for retirement. Moreover, his roots are in AP state though the official domicile of Pradeep Chandra is Telangana.
Against this backdrop, the argument within the official circles is that the State government may not consider Pradeep’s candidature for the top post.
Another senior officer MG Gopal, special CS of municipal administration, who is also said to be in the contest for the top post, will also retire in February. MG Gopal is from Telangana domicile.
In fact, present chief secretary Rajiv Sharma’s tenure was extended twice, three months each, after his retirement. Hence, Rajiv Sharma is unlikely to get another extension, official sources said.
“Third time extension for Rajiv Sharma, who is the first chief secretary of the state, is not easy as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has to consider the case,” sources added.