The Importance Of Being K Kailashnathan, PM Modi's "Eyes And Ears" In Gujarat

Kailashnathan, who was popularly known as KK among bureaucratic and political circles in Gujarat, had joined Modi’s Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) in 2006 and continued working there till June 30, 2024—a stint of 18 years, which is rare in the country’s bureaucratic system.

In 2006, Modi had picked KK to be his Principal Secretary, a position he occupied until his superannuation became due in 2013. But a special post of chief principal secretary was created in the Gujarat CMO, so that Kailshnathan could continue with the job he was doing, even after Modi moved to New Delhi in May 2014 on winning elections to become the prime minister of the country.

The creation of the special post underscored Kalishnathan's “indispensability” in the state administration. He remained in that post in the CMO until last month.

During his extended tenure, he worked with Anandiben Patel, who succeeded Modi in 2014 as CM of Gujarat. He then worked with Vijay Rupani and subsequently Bhupendra Patel who had taken over as CM after Rupani’s removal in 2021.

Now, a month after quitting the Gujarat CMO, the 72-year-old veteran bureaucrat is beginning a new assignment as the Lieutenant Governor (LG) of the Union Territory of Puducherry.

The role as LG of a union territory under the Ministry of Home Affairs (MHA) is essentially political in nature, an area KK is quite well versed with, given his experience in handling substantial political matters in the state.

“He has vast experience of nearly 45 years as a bureaucrat who functioned under different governments and carried out his duties or responsibilities,” a former IAS officer of Gujarat said.

Soft spoken and an astute political observer, KK has been a prominent figure in PM Modi’s core team since 2006. 

A native of Kerala, KK studied in Chennai University from where he did a masters in chemistry. He had initially joined a college in Tamil Nadu as lecturer before joining the Indian Administrative Service in 1979 and was assigned to Gujarat cadre.

In Gujarat, his first posting was as District Collector of Surendranagar and then of Surat. His experience is wide-ranging across various departments and corporations of Gujarat. This includes the department of Rural Development, Industries, Gujarat Maritime Board, Water Supply and also as Municipal Commissioner of Ahmedabad as well as the Principal Secretary of Urban Development.

In fact, it was during his stint as an IAS officer in the Gujarat Maritime Board (GMB) that the state opened its vast coastline for private ports, a first in India. This was through the announcement of the Build-Own-Operate-Transfer (BOOT) model.

Subsequently, Gujarat’s private port policy became a national success with all coastal states adopting the model with minor changes and modifications.

In 1994-95, Kailashnathan was the Chief Electoral Officer of Gujarat when the BJP stormed to power for the first time. Since then, they have never lost any assembly election in the state.

After his time in the GMB, he continued his innovative approach in government and during his stint as the Municipal Commissioner in Ahmedabad between 1999 and 2001, he developed the Raska water project in Ahmedabad for emergency water supply.

He had developed the Raska Project for Emergency Water Supply to the city in record time. This included laying a 43-km-long pipeline intended to solve a drinking water crisis that had become a major concern owing to water shortage and drought conditions in the state.

“He completed the water supply project, steered the civic body during the 2001 earthquake in which several hundred people had died in the city as dozens of buildings had collapsed,” a retired officer who worked with him told The Secretariat.

After Modi took over as the Chief Minister in October 2001, KK was transferred to the state capital. He had served as the Principal Secretary, Water Supply and during this period the state laid the pipelines in water starved districts to supply water for drinking from the Narmada river.

After that, he was moved to the Urban Development Department as the Principal Secretary where he had launched or initiated a number of key reforms to develop infrastructure, improve civic services and amenities, and expand cities like Ahmedabad, Surat and others.

It was during his role in the urban development department that the then CM Modi spotted his abilities and talent and brought him in the CMO as his Principal Secretary in 2006.

In the 18 years that he spent in the CMO, his clout and importance remained more or less unchanged and he played a crucial role in helping the CM—first Modi and then others—in administration and political management.

His grip on the administration remained tight. Nearly everyone from district collectors to senior-most secretaries of IPS officers would make a beeline for a meeting at his office on the third floor of Swarnim Sankul or at his sprawling residence in colonial era bungalow No.6 on the bank of Sabarmati river in Shahibaug.

Post 2014, he worked with three different CMs but his loyalty and commitment to Modi remained ever stronger even at the cost of earning an ire from his immediate boss, the then current CMs.

“After Modi became PM, Anandiben became CM during whose tenure KK had differences in certain important matters, but PM Modi always trusted KK more than anyone else. And the same continued even during Rupani’s tenure,” a former bureaucrat said.

The reason he was often referred to as the “Super CM” till his last day in the CMO on June 30, 2024 is self-evident.