Importance of being Iqbal Singh Chahal: Maharashtra govt set to lock horns with poll body

EC and state govt appear to be on a collision course over continuation of Iqbal Singh Chahal as BMC commissioner. When the election process began, EC wrote to govt, asking that all officials who have completed three years in office or have been posted in their hometown be shifted. It was assumed that civic officials were exempted on the grounds that they are not directly associated with election work.However, EC clarified that civic officials should be shunted, too.
Govt knocked on EC's doors, saying it should be allowed to retain civic officials since they are associated with major infrastructure projects that need to be completed in a time-bound manner. Much to its shock and surprise, its proposal was rejected.
Senior bureaucrats feel that Chahal is a workaholic and a go-getter because of which govt will not touch him. Chahal has played a key role in the CM's pet coastal road project, the upgrade and modernisation of hospitals, the construction of new roads, the beautification of Mumbai and the deep cleaning drive. The highlight of his 36-year IAS career has been that he has always secured plum assignments, and has completed his tenure and made his presence felt wherever he was posted by taking crucial decisions. He was Thane collector for four years as well as of Aurangabad for four years, state excise commissioner, and Mhada managing director. A former chief secretary says in the current political situation, where there is uncertainty over the tenure of bureaucrats, Chahal is indispensable.
LS dreams dashed
High-profile IPS officer Pratap Dighavkar has missed the bus. BJP has refused to nominate him for the LS polls from Dhule. Even before his retirement, he had been making efforts to join politics. But, immediately after retirement, he was appointed as a member of Maharashtra Public Service Commission (MPSC).
After his tenure ended, Dighavkar joined BJP, with the hope of getting a ticket from Dhule. In fact, when his tenure as MPSC member was about to end, he quietly launched a campaign in Nashik and Dhule, projecting himself as BJP's LS candidate. His name had prominently figured among the probables. But when BJP announced the list, Dighavkar's name was missing. Instead, it nominated sitting MP Subhash Bhamre.
In the past, several bureaucrats and IPS officials tried to join politics, but barring former Mumbai police commissioner Satya Pal Singh, all failed. Singh was elected to LS from Baghpat, UP, in 2014 and made Union minister of state.