Kailasanathan Retires from CMO After 18 Years: Trusted Aide of PM Modi May Become Jammu and Kashmir’s Lieutenant Governor
Farewell to K. Kailasanathan, an Officer with Nearly Two Decades in the Chief Minister’s Office
K. Kailasanathan, an officer who served in the Chief Minister’s office for almost two decades, has been given a farewell. His extension and six-month tenure concluded on June 30. He was currently serving as the Principal Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister. He was honored just before his last day of service. After retiring due to age limits in 2013, he continued to provide contract-based service to Gujarat’s administrative system for 11 years. There is a possibility that he might be appointed to the central government or as the Lieutenant Governor of Jammu and Kashmir, as the current LG, Manoj Sinha, is nearing the end of his term.
Known as K.K., Kailasanathan has worked with four Chief Ministers. He served as the Principal Chief Secretary to the Chief Minister from 2006 until now. During this period, he worked with four Chief Ministers of Gujarat: Narendra Modi, Anandiben Patel, Vijay Rupani, and Bhupendra Patel. Not only this, but he also made history by receiving the most extensions, a total of 11 times.
K.K.’s Journey in the CMO
From August 2006 to April 2008, K. Kailasanathan served as the Principal Secretary to Chief Minister Narendra Modi. From October 2010 to May 2013, he was reappointed as the Additional Chief Secretary to Chief Minister Modi and retired on May 31, 2013, after 33 years of service. Post-retirement, from June 2013 to May 2014, Narendra Modi created a special position in his office and appointed Kailasanathan as his Principal Chief Secretary.
In May 2014, after the Lok Sabha elections, Anandiben Patel took over as Chief Minister and retained Kailasanathan as her Principal Chief Secretary for a year. From May 2015, Anandiben extended his tenure for another year. After Anandiben’s resignation, Vijay Rupani became Chief Minister and appointed Kailasanathan as his Principal Chief Secretary from August 2016 for his term. After the 2017 Assembly elections, the BJP was victorious, and Vijay Rupani became Chief Minister again.
He extended Kailasanathan’s tenure as Principal Chief Secretary for two more years, until December 2019. Before this extension ended, Rupani further extended his tenure by two years, until December 2021. In 2021, Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel appointed K. Kailasanathan as the Chief Principal Secretary to the Chief Minister.
Who is Kailasanathan?
K. Kailasanathan began his career in 1981 as an Assistant Collector. He served as the Collector of Surendranagar in 1985 and Surat in 1987. From 1999 to 2001, he was also the Commissioner of Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation. Another significant role in his career was as the Chairman of the Steering Committee for the BRTS project. Known as K.K., Kailasanathan’s full name is Kuniyal Kailasanathan. He holds an M.Sc. in Chemistry from Madras University and an MA in Economics from the University of Wales. A close aide to PM Modi, K. Kailasanathan is considered a powerful officer.
