Insider track | NIA boss wanted, CVs welcome
The race to find the next National Investigation Agency chief has picked up pace after DG Sadanand Vasant Date was sent back to his home cadre. The 1990-batch officer, feted for his role during 26/11, is now widely tipped to take over as Maharashtra DGP. Names are now being tossed around in closed-door meetings for his successor. Intelligence Bureau chief Tapan Kumar Dekas name did surface, despite him already enjoying two extensions till June 2026. But the mood in government circles favours a 1994-batch officer with solid anti-terror credentials. Several Special DGs in paramilitary forces exist on paper, but none seem to have made the cut. R&AW officers are also being kept out, with continuity preferred amid a fast-changing geopolitical backdrop. Spotlight on Bengals new variable As West Bengal heads toward the 2026 Assembly elections, political attention is turning to Humayun Kabir. The suspended TMC leader, now leading his Janata Unnayana Party, is drawing crowds, particularly among Muslim voters, and plans to contest every Muslim-majority seatincluding TMC strongholds like Ballygunge. Delhi circles are debating whether Kabir could play a role similar to AIMIM in Bihar, splitting the opposition vote and indirectly helping the BJP. While the saffron party remains publicly quiet, opposition leaders worry that Kabirs rise could chip away at the TMCs support more than challenge the BJP. With a new political dynamic emerging, his presence is set to reshape the electoral landscape and make several closely fought constituencies more unpredictable in 2026. Pay panel without a pay office The 8th Central Pay Commission has been announced, named, and chaired, but it still doesnt know where to sit. More than a month after its constitution under former Supreme Court Justice Ranjana Prakash Desai, the commission has not been allotted office space. This is despite a looming deadline, as the 7th Pay Commission expires on December 31, 2025, with revised salaries due from January 1, 2026. Though the panel has an 18-month window to submit recommendations, it hasnt formally begun work. Whispers in bureaucratic corridors suggest the delay is tactical: a pay award announcement closer to the 2027 Uttar Pradesh elections, followed by payouts with arrears nearer the 2029 Lok Sabha polls, could be politically convenient. Extension denied, contract supplied The Centre may have said no, but UPs Yogi Adityanath government has proved that administrative detours are always available. After the Union Home Ministry rejected the proposal to extend Prashant Kumars tenure as DGP, the state quietly brought him back on a three-year contract. The 1990-batch retired IPS officer is the new chairman of the Uttar Pradesh Education Service Selection Commission, which handles recruitment for secondary and higher education teachers. The timing is telling, with the state keeping a close watch on the 2027 Assembly elections. The UPESSC itself is a relatively new creation, formed in 2024 by merging two education recruitment bodies. The message from Lucknow is unmistakable: denial in Delhi does not always mean retirement at home. CWC meets, pens nearly fly The Congress Working Committee meeting had more sparks than planned, and not all of them came from Digvijay Singhs comments on the RSS and BJP. A pointed exchange between Shashi Tharoor and party spokesperson Pawan Khera also raised eyebrows. Tharoor reportedly pressed Khera to detail his public allegations about goings-on in the Prime Ministers Office, linked to claims involving former IAS officer Navneet Sehgal. Khera is said to have explained his position during the meeting, but his parting quip Why dont you also write about it? didnt go unnoticed. Some leaders saw it as a swipe at Tharoors prolific writing and social media posts praising Prime Minister Modi, which have made sections of the party visibly uncomfortable.
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