By Yogesh Mishra

Lucknow: The Uttar Pradesh Assembly poll results are yet to be declared but the bureaucrats are running busy maneuvering their next postings in the new Government.

Divided on the lines of caste and political inclination, the bureaucrats are not just hoping but claiming their leader will sworn in as the chief minister of the state. Moreover, the bureaucrats have even distributed the top posts of the department among each other, hoping if their fancies come true.

The bureaucrats have started visiting their political masters more often, to get desired posting when these leaders come to power. If gossips in the power corridors are to be believed, none of the major political outfits or alliance is going to achieve the magic figure to form government in UP. In this situation, the bureaucrats are even looking for new political masters to keep alive their chances of getting creamy posting.

Among the Dalit bureaucrats, who are hoping for Mayawati-led Bahujan Samaj Party (BSP) to win the UP elections, Fatehbahadur, whose retirement date is not far away, is being looked as the next Chief Secretary. It is being said that if Mayawati comes to power, he may play a Shashank Shekhar Singh after retiring.

Along with this, IAS officers like Anil Sagar, Kumar Kamlesh, Dinesh Chandra, SM Bodhe, Sudhir Garg and DS Mishra are some prominent names who are looked as the ‘blessed’ slot if Mayawati regains power.

In anticipation of new equation, few departments stopped their routine working. Secretariat Administration, with NS Ravi as its principle secretary, has stopped making new car passes waiting for the formation of the new government. Retired officers, like Netram, who once were close confidence of Mayawati, have also ignited his hopes of being re-inducted in power corridor of Mayawati government.

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Not only the Dalit bureaucrats, but other IAS officers are also living with hope of getting a favourable government in the offing. IAS officers like Parth Sarthi Sen Sharma, Pandhari Yadav, Amit Gupta, GS Naveen Kumar, Kumar Arvind Dev, Arun Singhal, Arvind Kumar, Rajeev Kumar Second, Ramaraman, Pranjal Yadav, Kamran Rizvi and Sanjay Agarwal are still hopeful that Akhilesh Yadav will create history by serving his second consecutive term in the CM office.

According to the sources in the bureaucracy, Akhilesh’s close officers like Navneet Sehgal, Sadakant, Aradhana Shukla and Alok Ranjan are also trying to establish good connections with the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which is a strong contender of winning the UP polls. A highly ranked official in the department has already met with a BJP MP in Poorvanchal, whose name is being considered for the chief ministerial post if the party comes to power.

There are talks that Rahul Bhatnagar may not remain the Chief Secretary for long. Sanjay Agarwal and Deepak Singhal are being looked as the frontrunners for the post if BJP takes over power in the state. They believe that if BJP will elevate an Other Backward Caste leader as the CM, the Chief Secretary post will be given to a forward caste officer. It may be mentioned that Sanjay Agarwal’s brother Anil Agarwal is a Gujarat cadre IPS officer. It is also being said that Sadakant and Anoop Pandey may also get desired posing in the bureaucracy. Sadakant has earlier served as the Information Director during the former Chief Minister and senior BJP leader Kalyan Singh’s government in the state. He has also served as the personal secretary of Uma Bharti.

In case, Akhilesh Yadav-led SP retains power, there seems no threat to the current Director General’s post. If the government needs to remove him, Praveen Kumar Singh will be the first choice. On the other hand, if BSP comes to power, current DGP Javeed Ahmed is likely to continue at the pose due to his close binding with Mayawati. It is being said that Sulkhan Singh and PK Tiwari are also in fray for the post.

IPS officer Chandra Prakash is most likely to get the posting of ADG Law and Order, if BSP forms government. In BJP government, JP Sharma is the strongest contender for the post, while AK Dwivedi, Sulkhan Singh, Bhavesh Singh and Surya Kumar Shukla may also get the desired postings. Mahendra Modi, who is currently serving as the ADG, may also get good place in the bureaucracy in BJP regime.

During Akhilesh Yadav regime in UP, several IAS and IPS officers belonging to a specific caste were inducted in the bureaucracy. Similarly, it is possible that BJP may also include the Gujarat cadre officials, who share connection with the state.

It is to tell you that the final picture of the Uttar Pradesh politics and bureaucracy will come to the fore on March 11 when Assembly election results will be declared.

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