The Department of Personnel has already forwarded a panel of the five senior-most IAS officers from the Himachal cadre, including officers serving in the state as well as those on central deputation. The names under consideration are KK Pant of the 1993 batch; Anuradha Thakur and Onkar Sharma, both from the 1994 batch; and Bharat Khera and RD Nazeem of the 1995 batch.
Traditionally, chief ministers in Himachal have mostly adhered to seniority while appointing Chief Secretaries. However, there have also been notable instances where seniority was overlooked to place a trusted officer in the top administrative position.
One of the most cited examples remains the appointment of VC Pharka by then Chief Minister Virbhadra Singh in June 2016. A 1983 batch officer, Pharka was elevated to the post of Chief Secretary after the retirement of P Mitra, superseding five senior officers — Deepak Sanan, Ajay Mittal, Vineet Chaudhary, Upma Chaudhary and AR Sihag. The decision had triggered resentment within the bureaucracy, with some superseded officers even approaching the Central Administrative Tribunal.
More recently, seniority again took a backseat when RD Dhiman was appointed Chief Secretary in July 2022 after the removal of Ram Subhag Singh. Dhiman, from the 1988 batch, superseded several officers senior to him, including Nisha Singh, Ali Raza Rizvi and Sanjay Gupta. To avoid the anomaly of senior officers reporting to a junior, all four were subsequently designated as Principal Advisers.
Sanjay Gupta himself had earlier been overlooked when Dhiman and later Prabodh Saxena were appointed Chief Secretaries. Saxena, a 1990 batch officer, was even granted a rare six-month extension beyond retirement till September 2025. Gupta eventually assumed office as Chief Secretary on October 1, 2025, under the Sukhu government.
Against this backdrop, the race for the next Chief Secretary has intensified. KK Pant, currently serving as Additional Chief Secretary (Forest), is the senior-most officer in the reckoning. If the government strictly follows seniority, Pant is likely to succeed Gupta. Significantly, he is due to retire only in December 2030, which could potentially give Himachal one of its longest-serving Chief Secretaries.
However, bureaucratic circles are also abuzz with speculation over the possible elevation of Onkar Sharma, currently Additional Chief Secretary (Tribal Affairs). Sharma is considered a strong contender not only because he is serving in the state but also because he is due to retire comparatively earlier, in February 2027. Those backing his candidature argue that appointing Sharma now would still leave enough time for Pant to eventually become Chief Secretary later.
Another name doing the rounds is that of RD Nazeem, despite being junior to the other contenders. Nazeem presently handles key portfolios, including Industries and Transport, and is scheduled to retire in December 2028.
Meanwhile, speculation has also intensified around Bharat Khera, who is presently on Central deputation. Talk of Khera emerging as the Chief Minister’s preferred choice gained momentum after his recent meeting with Sukhu in Shimla earlier this month. However, the state government has not yet initiated any formal move with the Centre to seek his repatriation to Himachal.
Anuradha Thakur, presently Secretary in the Union Ministry of Economic Affairs, is another prominent name under consideration. If selected, she would become the fourth woman Chief Secretary of Himachal Pradesh after Rajindra Bhattacharya, Asha Swaroop, Rajwant Sandhu and Harinder Hira. However, bureaucratic sources indicate that Thakur may be reluctant to leave her influential assignment at the Centre and return to the state cadre at this stage.
With multiple contenders and competing administrative and political considerations at play, the final decision is likely to rest entirely with Chief Minister Sukhu. Whether he chooses continuity through seniority or asserts his authority through a handpicked appointment will become clear only when the government announces the next Chief Secretary — possibly on the very day Sanjay Gupta retires.
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