Outgoing Acting Chief Secretary Sanjay Gupta was today appointed as the regular Chief Secretary of Himachal Pradesh, barely five days before his retirement, triggering intense speculation and lobbying over who will succeed him as the state’s top bureaucrat.
A 1988-batch IAS officer, Gupta had been functioning as the Acting Chief Secretary since October 1, 2025, after former Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena completed his six-month extension on September 30 last year. Saxena had originally retired on March 31, 2025, but was granted an extension by the state government.
Gupta’s elevation has revived discussions over repeated supersession in the state bureaucracy. Despite being senior, he had earlier been overlooked when RD Dhiman was appointed Chief Secretary during the previous BJP regime and later when Saxena was chosen by the present Congress government.
With Gupta demitting office at the end of this month, attention has now shifted to the race for the next Chief Secretary. The frontrunner is widely considered to be KK Pant, a 1993-batch officer currently serving as Additional Chief Secretary (Forest and Home). Pant, originally from Uttarakhand, is presently the senior-most serving officer in the state and has a tenure extending till December 2030.
Among other contenders are 1994-batch officer Anuradha Thakur, currently serving as Secretary in the Union Finance Ministry, and her batchmate Onkar Sharma, who presently heads the Tribal Development Department. Another name under consideration is Bharat Khera, a 1995-batch officer currently on central deputation.
BJP questions short-term appointment
BJP state chief spokesperson and Sundernagar MLA Rakesh Jamwal on Tuesday criticised the Congress government in Himachal Pradesh over the appointment of senior IAS officer Sanjay Gupta as the regular Chief Secretary for only a few days before his retirement.
In a statement issued here, Jamwal termed the move a reflection of the government’s “confused and unstable” administrative functioning. He said appointing an officer to such a crucial administrative post for merely four to five days amounted to making a mockery of the system and could adversely impact the morale of officers in the state bureaucracy.
He pointed out that Sanjay Gupta had already been serving as the Acting Chief Secretary with additional charge since October 1, 2025, and questioned the government’s decision to formalise the appointment just ahead of his retirement.
Alleging that the Congress government was functioning in an authoritarian manner, Jamwal claimed that officers were being pressured while administrative decisions were being taken. He further said the government was prioritising politically motivated decisions instead of strengthening the state’s administrative structure.
