 "Narendra Modi")
With the names of two Gujarat cadre Indian Police Service officers doing the rounds as possible replacements for Delhi Police commissioner B S Bassi (who retires from service in a few weeks), 'Team Gujarat' in Delhi could swell further.
Already, as many as 30 officers, including those from the Indian Administrative Service and Indian Forest Service, have been moved to the capital since the Lok Sabha elections in May 2014, after then state chief minister Narendra Modi became the country's Prime Minister.
The names of Ahmedabad police commissioner and 1983-batch IPS officer Shivanand Jha and Surat police commissioner Rakesh Asthana, a 1984-batch officer, are in circulation as contenders to succeed Bassi. Delhi Police reports to the Union home ministry.
Arvind Sharma, G C Murmu, Hasmukh Adhia, Sanjay Bhavsar, Rajesh Kishore, H K Dash, P K Pujari, Guruprasad Mohapatra, Ashim Khurana, and R P Gupta were among the Gujarat IAS officers who were moved to Delhi in responsible positions after Modi became PM. Apart from 1972-batch retired cadre officer P K Mishra, who was appointed the additional principal secretary to Modi. There is also Hiren Joshi from the Gujarat government, who was shifted as officer on special duty (OSD) in the PM's Office. An OSD (information technology) to Modi when chief minister, he is believed to have introduced him on the social media circuit. Also, Modi's long-time public relations officer, Jagdish Thakker, was moved to the PMO soon after Modi took charge.
There are, of course, Gujarat cadre IAS officers who were at the Centre before Modi came to power there, Such as secretary to the PMO, Rajiv Topno; secretary, commerce & industry, Rita Teaotia; joint secretary, textiles, Sunaina Tomar; 1988 batch Indian Forest Service cadre Bharat Lal; the incumbent resident commissioner of Gujarat Bhawan in Delhi, and the former Swachh Bharat mission head, Vijaylakshmi Joshi.
What could go against Jha or Asthana is the recent Patidar agitation in Gujarat, which has seen significant success in the cities of Ahmedabad and Surat. According to state government sources, given the police excesses during the agitation and subsequent arrests, the administration in Gujarat would want Jha and Asthana to stay put for a while here.
