Bureaucratic Realignment Begins: Fadnavis Blocks Shinde’s Favourites, Picks Aggarwal

Rajesh Aggarwal’s repatriation and elevation as Chief Secretary marks a decisive move by the Chief Minister to reclaim control of Mantralaya and sideline officers aligned with Deputy CM Eknath Shinde.

X: @vivekbhavsar

Mumbai: Maharashtra stands before a defining bureaucratic shift as Chief Secretary Rajesh Kumar retires on November 30, ending his extended three-month tenure. The state is now preparing to install Rajesh Aggarwal (IAS, 1989 batch) as the next Chief Secretary — a move that carries the unmistakable imprint of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis’ political intent. The appointment order is expected anytime, but the consensus across Mantralaya is already settled: Aggarwal is coming in.

Aggarwal’s return is not a routine cadre reshuffle. After serving at the Centre since 2015, his repatriation was sanctioned by the Appointments Committee of the Cabinet on October 28, 2025, and crucially, it was done at the request of the Government of Maharashtra. The urgency and precision of this request reveal one thing: Fadnavis wanted him back for this role, and no alternative would suffice.

With a clear runway until November 2026, Aggarwal will enjoy a rare full-year tenure — stability that Maharashtra’s coalition-era bureaucracy has not seen in years. His profile — digital governance specialist, financial reformer, and a clean, apolitical administrator — gives Fadnavis an officer who is technically formidable and strategically neutral.

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But beneath this administrative veneer lies a sharper political reality. By choosing Aggarwal, Fadnavis has effectively shut the doors on an entire slate of senior officers aligned with Deputy Chief Minister Eknath Shinde. Dr I.S. Chahal, Bhushan Gagrani, Deepak Kapoor, Anil Diggikar and O.P. Gupta were all in the zone of consideration. Among them, Chahal and Gagrani, long considered Shinde’s most trusted bureaucratic lieutenants, were expected to be strong contenders — especially if Shinde had succeeded in controlling the power equation.

Fadnavis ensured they never got close.

This appointment comes against the backdrop of heightened tension within the Mahayuti alliance. Despite the coalition’s overwhelming majority, Shinde is believed to have stalled the formation of the new government after the elections, using delay as leverage to negotiate ministries and maintain control over sensitive administrative posts. BJP insiders viewed this with deep suspicion. Fadnavis, having endured three years of political one-upmanship, has now struck back not through public confrontation but through a decisive bureaucratic manoeuvre — reclaiming the state’s administrative command before political bargaining erodes it again.

Aggarwal’s return resets the administrative chessboard in one stroke. He has no factional baggage, no local loyalties, and has spent the last decade in Delhi shaping Aadhaar, Jan Dhan, DigiLocker and social-justice reforms. His presence at the top neutralises the backchannels, camps and informal power circuits that have defined Mantralaya’s functioning during coalition governments. With Aggarwal, the Chief Secretary’s chair becomes an instrument of governance again — not a trophy of political negotiation.

For Shinde’s camp, this is a significant setback. For Fadnavis, it is a controlled reclamation of the bureaucracy. For the state machinery, it is the beginning of a new administrative order.

The message is subtle but unmistakable: in Maharashtra, political revenge does not need noise — it can be delivered through one carefully moved file. Rajesh Aggarwal’s appointment marks the start of a new power alignment inside Mantralaya, engineered quietly, executed clinically, and destined to shape the next year of governance.