Next Raj CS could be a woman

Jaipur: If the Centre turns down the request of the state for extension of tenure of chief secretary Rajeeva Swarup, a woman officer could become the next top bureaucrat.
Going by seniority, Swarup’s batchmates (1985 batch) Ravi Shanker Srivastava and Giriraj Singh are the senior-most bureaucrats in the state. But they are said to be out of reckoning as both are posted out of the secretariat now.
The chances of a woman becoming the next chief secretary are bright as the next three in line are women. Union sports and youth affairs secretary Usha Sharma of 1985 batch could be the top contender. Next in line is Neel Kamal Darbari who is on deputation with the Centre. Veenu Gupta, currently ACS PWD, is third on the list. Both Darbari and Gupta are 1987 batch officers.
Usha Sharma is the sister-in-law of assembly speaker CP Joshi while Gupta is wife of former chief secretary D B Gupta. Darbari was additional chief secretary (agriculture) in the previous BJP government before she shifted to Delhi.
All of them have a tenure of over two years as their retirement is due in 2023.
Sharma is two years senior to Gupta and Darbari and her present posting in New Delhi is technically equivalent to the post of chief secretary. One factor that might go against her is that she has been away from the state for over eight years now and there’s no word yet if she was interested in returning to the state. Similar is the case with Darbari.
Gupta has been holding very important posts in both the BJP and Congress governments. She has been principal secretary (industry) under the BJP before becoming ACS (medical and health) before being shifted to PWD under the present regime.
If Gupta gets the top job, it will be the first such case in the state where husband and wife would occupy the top job in the state.
If any of the three women IAS officers make it to the top slot, it will be the second instance in the state where a woman will hold the post. The first woman chief secretary was Kushal Singh, who was appointed by chief minister Ashok Gehlot in 2009, during his second stint as chief minister.