Who Is MK Das, The Only Officer to Return to Gujarat's CMO in Two Decades?

For example, K Kailashnathan led the CMO for nearly 18 years, while GC Murmu served for about eight years. AK Sharma held the position from 2001 to 2014, with a brief interruption for a year-long study leave.

During Anandiben Patel’s brief tenure, her team featured S Aparna and Ajay Bhadu. Patel's successor retained S Aparna alongside Ashwani Kumar. However, when Aparna was appointed to the World Bank, MK Das was brought in as the principal secretary in 2018.

Das held the position as long as Vijay Rupani was chief minister, which was till September 2021. However, Das was moved out of the CMO immediately after Bhupendra Patel took charge as the CM.

Now, less than three years later, Das has returned to the Chief Minister’s Office as the No. 2 officer after Pankaj Joshi, who had succeeded Das in 2021.

The return of Das to the CMO has led some to believe that his advent could be due to his regained importance. 

During Rupani’s era, Das was his principal secretary and also held additional charge of the powerful position of principal secretary, department of industries and mines.

Now, as he returns to the CMO, Das will take charge as the additional CS to CM and will also hold charge of the crucial home department as well. 

The state's political bosses, who approved the appointment, in all likelihood took into consideration his prior experience as Joint Secretary in the Union Ministry of Home during the UPA period, when he was on central deputation.

Manoj Kumar Das, a 1990 batch IAS officer of the Gujarat cadre, has extensive experience in the state including as municipal commissioner of the important cities of Vadodara and Surat.

After his stint at Surat, he was posted as joint MD of Gujarat State Petroleum Corporation (GSPC). From there he moved on to be principal secretary of the department of civil supply and consumer affairs.

“He is a good task master who has a knack for getting things done. Also, he has an understanding of the state and consequently is a good fit,” a senior officer said.

While he is known for his “strong likes and dislikes,” he is believed to to have a good working relationship with most of the officers and subordinates in the secretariat.

Das’s first entry into the CMO during the Rupani period is credited to his proximity to K Kailashnathan, with whom Das had worked as deputy municipal commissioner in Ahmedabad in  2000-2001.

However, his second stint at the CMO appears purely based on his utility to the top brass at a time when it faces a sizeable shortage of senior bureaucrats in the state.