Anil Tyagi | Vaishnaw, Man In Centre Of 3 Raging Storms

At present, Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s regime finds itself stuck on three sticky wickets, in issues with massive political and electoral implications. Apart from the involvement of Cabinet ministers, senior most civil servants and multiple institutions, there is one person who is at the heart of the three storms. Ashwini Vaishnaw, the Cabinet minister with three heavyweight portfolios, railways, electronics and IT, and information and broadcasting. The fingers, and trails in each case point and lead to this 1994-batch Odisha-cadre IAS officer, whose rise in the world of politics is remarkable, and his reach intriguing. Mr Vaishnaw is believed to be instrumental in pushing the C-DAC-linked tech network to manage elections which, after the entry of TCS, led to the deletion of lakhs of names from the voting lists, and short-circuited the workings of the electoral machinery. Speculation is rife that Mr Vaishnaw brought in Neetu Verma and Seema Khanna into key IT positions within the Election Commission of India. Ms Khanna’s name is among the officials responsible for the electoral impasse.

In railways, the Mumbai-Ahmedabad rail corridor depends on Japanese Shinkansen technology and Japan’s financial support. At a recent dinner with visiting Indian journalists in Japan, a Japanese foreign ministry spokesperson reportedly said that the project’s progress fell short of Tokyo’s expectations. Hence, Japan could not commit to a completion date. The contract trail led to a Siemens-DRA Infracon consortium that secured the signalling and telecom work worth Rs 4,100 crore. It may be a coincidence that Mr Vaishnaw worked with Siemens and General Electric Transportation after he was out of IAS, and before he entered politics. In broadcasting, frustrated and angry by the five-year delay related to the entry into India’s satellite Internet services (Satcom), America’s Elon Musk, the richest person on the planet, accused the Indian government, and entrenched oligarchs, specifically Mukesh Ambani, for the long wait. His comments on X question if Mukesh is the “real boss” in India, and whether the latter’s contributions to the BJP played a role. India denied the accusations, but Mr Vaishnaw is at the centre of the Satcom battle because licensing involves his portfolio.

Will Samrat end Nitish’s legacy in Bihar?

For the first few months, the old administrative machinery seemed intact. Files moved the way they did, officers stayed where they did, and relationships survived a major political transition. In April 2026, when the long reign of Nitish Kumar as Bihar’s chief minister ended, and Samrat Choudhary stepped in, there were no visible bureaucratic changes. Among the survivors was Deepak Kumar, the retired 1984-batch IAS officer who remained a powerful presence in the chief minister’s office (CMO). But, in June, the new CM transferred 21 IAS and 29 IPS officers in a sweeping exercise. The message was unmistakable: The new ‘Samrat’ intended to establish his command. Within the CMO, secretaries Lokesh Kumar Singh (2003 batch) and Sanjay Kumar Singh (2007 batch), along with joint secretaries Shrikant Kundalik Khandekar and Gunjan Singh (both 2020 batch) are part of the changed team. An important break from the past came on September 30, when Deepak Kumar was moved out of the CMO, and appointed as vice-chairman of the Bihar State Disaster Management Authority. While it did not signal an exit from the government, it ended the presence from the administrative core. Former DGP Vinay Kumar became the state chief information commissioner. There is still no permanent DGP, with Preeta Verma as the acting chief. Still a crucial question hangs in the air: Will chief secretary Pratyaya Amrit continue to be the principal anchor? The sidelined officers reportedly reached out to the former CM Nitish Kumar, but the latter’s health might limit his ability to help the loyalists.

Punjab: Two masters, one CM

As Punjab heads towards the Assembly polls next year, the state stares at a projected outstanding liability of Rs 4.48 lakh crore in 2026-27. The issue possibly turns out to be one of alleged corruption. Nitin Gohal, a private IT entrepreneur associated with Fortec Web Solutions, finds himself in the docks after the Enforcement Directorate (ED) recovered Rs 20.98 lakh from his premises. There were allegations against Rajbir Singh Ghuman, a former lecturer at a private engineering college, and chief minister Bhagwant Mann’s officer on special duty. The Punjab and Haryana high court ordered a probe, and the CBI searched Ghuman-linked premises, including Mr Mann’s camp office. As the Opposition sharpens its knives, and the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) finds itself with its back against the wall, tongues are wagging about the internal workings of AAP. Sources describe that the party head Arvind Kejriwal manages the political strategy, and his right-hand-man, Manish Sisodia, coordinates government affairs. This arrangement is significant because the ED alleged that Mr Sisodia and former minister Satyendra Jain held unofficial meetings with the officials of Greater Mohali Area Development Authority over land auctions. Mr Sisodia denied the allegations. There are charges related to 21 interventions in transfers and postings across 20 departments, and 11 policy-related interventions. The key bureaucrats include chief secretary K.A.P. Sinha (1992-batch IAS); Ravi Bhagat (2006-batch IAS), principal secretary to CM, a key interface; Alok Shekhar (1994-batch IAS), who handles finance and Home affairs; and DGP Gaurav Yadav (1992-batch IPS), who heads police. For most officers, the dilemma is simple: Which direction do they sway?

The writer is a senior journalist and alumnus of the Delhi School of Economics. He is the editor of gfiles, India’s first magazine on civil services and governance. @AnilTyagilive.