If re-elected, Modi may see departure of many of bureaucrats from PMO: Report

The Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) may see several changes at the top bureaucratic level if the Prime Minister Narendra Modi returns to power in May, news agency Reuters quoted multiple sources in the administration as saying. According to the report, at least eight senior bureaucrats in the PMO have either sought a transfer to other departments or plan to take premature retirement. 

Interestingly, two of them said they are also planning to be transferred to state capitals or to other jobs. They also claimed that officials in other ministries were also trying to move.

Reuters reported that there are about 25 senior civil servants working in the PMO, which under Modi has become the single most powerful department in government.

So, what is the reason behind this?

# Many top bureaucrats complained about two aspects of the Modi administration – their inability to influence government policy as it is largely controlled and set by the prime minister and a small group of ministers and advisers, and the demanding work schedule they face, the report said.

# Many of these top officials have received a Western-style education at India’s top universities or schools overseas and are uncomfortable with the BJP's nationalism and Modi’s rough-hewn approach to governance, the report added.

Ninety-one Lok Sabha constituencies spread across 18 states and two UTs, including all in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, will go to polls on Thursday in the first-phase, with Nitin Gadkari, Kiren Rijiju and VK Singh among several Union ministers in the fray. 

Voting for 543 Lok Sabha seats will be held in seven phases: April 11, April 18, April 23, April 29, May 6, May 12 and May 19. Counting will be done on May 23. The first phase of polls will decide the fate of 217 candidates.

There are 26 hopefuls in fray for Lok Sabha seats and 191 for assembly seats. Polls for all the five seats in Uttarakhand, which were won by the BJP in 2014, will be held the first phase. 

(With PTI inputs)