Law Kumar Mishra
Ahmedabad, September 19
The Gujarat Chief Minister Office (CMO) has an indispensable face, an Indian Administrative Service (IAS) who holds the coveted position no matter who the Chief Minister is.
While the newly elected Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and the party organisation went for a major overhaul and inducted new faces in the cabinet, 1979-batch IAS officer K Kailashnathan would be no new to the affairs in the Chief Minister Office (CMO). The state government issued an order appointing him as the Chief Principal Secretary in the CMO.
Fondly known as KK, the 68-year-old Kailashnathan stepped-in into the CMO in July 2006 when Prime Minister Narendra Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat. A day before his retirement in May 2013, a post of Chief Principal Secretary was created in the CMO to accommodate the officer. Since then, he had been getting extension to head the CMO despite the Chief Minister’s kept changing.
After Narendra Modi, Anandiban Patel and Vijay Rupani headed the state. The position of Kailashnathan however did not change. Now, the Bhupendra Patel government had issued a circular appointing the retired IAS official as the Chief Principal Secretary in the CMO on contractual basis. Patel was sworn in as the Chief Minister on September 13.
Known for a low profile and highly effective style of functioning, Kailashnathan has been a key link between the political leadership and the bureaucracy with Chief Minister generally adhering to his advices. During the run-up to the 2014 Lok Sabha election, Modi – who had to travel across the country – relied heavily on Kailashnathan to manage the affairs of the state. He is considered to be Narendra’s Modi’s most trusted bureaucrat.
The name of Kailashnathan was also considered for the post of Governor for a Southern state. The rumours now laid in rest with his contractual assignment in Gujarat.
