Bhopal (Madhya Pradesh): There were speculations about the appointment of the new chief secretary. The names of many IAS officers cropped up for the coveted post, but finally, what the Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan wanted, has happened. By giving extension to Iqbal Singh Bains, Chouhan has shown his political power.
Bains’s extension has made it clear that Chouhan is on good terms with the Central Government as well as with the Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
It also indicates that Chouhan will be the Bharatiya Janata Party’s face for assembly elections to be held next year. Bains has become the third chief secretary who has worked with Chouhan and got extension from the Centre.
Before the 2013 assembly elections, Chouhan had given extension to R Parshuram and to VP Singh before the 2018 assembly elections. Both were given extension for six months. Now, Bains has been given extension before 2023 Vidhan Sabha elections.
As the state elections will be held next year, the Chief Minister was not keen on changing his team of officers. This is the reason that he has shown his confidence in Bains.
Whenever there are speculations about Chouhan, he shows his political acumen, and his his detractors in the party have also understood the depth of Chouhan’s political wisdom.
Chouhan has become powerful after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visits to Madhya Pradesh. Now that the chief secretary has got extension, Chief Minister has emerged stronger.
About the appointment of the chief secretary, it was stated that new incumbent in office will be someone of Centre’s choice. Bains’s extension has indicated that the Centre has given free hand to Chouhan to take administrative decisions.
Chouhan, Bains working since 2006
There has been a fine coordination between Chief Minister Shivraj Singh Chouhan and Iqbal Singh Bains since 2006. Bains was posted as secretary to the Chief Minister’s Secretariat in 2006. After he was shifted from the CM’s Secretariat in 2015, he was called back. He has been working with Chouhan as chief secretary since March 2020.
