The importance of being MK Singh, Yogi’s ‘low-key’ right hand, now power centre in IAS circles

Singh was appointed UP chief secretary in June but he has been a key member of Adityanath’s core team since the chief minister was re-elected for a second term in 2022.

UP Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh | Credit: Facebook/Manoj Kumar Singh

New Delhi: In the power corridors of Uttar Pradesh, a new face has quietly risen to the top: Chief Secretary Manoj Kumar Singh.

Singh’s influence is evident from photographs of Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath’s review meetings where he is often seen seated to the chief minister’s right, earning him the reputation of being Adityanath’s “right-hand man”.

So, who is M.K. Singh, also known as a ‘super bureaucrat’ in Uttar Pradesh?

Singh is a 1988 batch IAS officer who Adityanath handpicked for the role because of his reputation for being an efficient civil servant who has successfully helped the chief minister realise his vision since he came to power.

Singh was appointed chief secretary in June but he has been a key member of Adityanath’s core team since the chief minister was re-elected for a second term in 2022.

Functionaries in the Chief Minister’s Office (CMO) say ‘MKS’, as Singh is also known, emerged as a new power centre in Adityanath’s second tenure as he gained the chief minister’s trust while maintaining a good rapport with fellow civil servants.

“He is also known as ‘delivery man’ among his colleagues, as the chief ministers always look towards him for important projects. It is one of the reasons Maharaj ji gave him responsibility for key departments related to infrastructure, investment and agriculture,” a functionary in the CMO told ThePrint.

All eyes are now on the next big project that Singh is supervising: the Maha Kumbh Mela starting next month.

Singh has been busy holding review meetings to prepare for the religious gathering that is expected to draw 400 million visitors over 45 days from 13 January to 26 February.

That’s not all he has on his plate.

Singh also has the responsibility of monitoring the progress of investment projects in Uttar Pradesh where Prime Minister Narendra Modi launched 14,000 big-ticket projects worth over Rs 10 lakh crore in February. The projects cover a range of sectors, from manufacturing and renewable energy to food processing and housing.

Expertise in agriculture

In the past seven years, Yogi Adityanath has worked with five chief secretaries: Rajiv Kumar, Anup Chand Pandey, Rajendra Tiwari, D.S. Mishra and Manoj Kumar Singh.

According to sources in the CMO, this is the first time he has appointed a chief secretary who is considered his “right-hand man”.

Many in Uttar Pradesh’s political circles believe Singh’s appointment bears the chief minister’s stamp at a time when his critics had assumed his clout had waned after the Bharatiya Janata Party’s (BJP’s) setback in the Lok Sabha polls in Uttar Pradesh.

Singh’s experience will certainly be to his advantage.

Before being appointed chief secretary, he held significant positions in the government: agriculture production commissioner, additional chief secretary for the Panchayati Raj and horticulture departments, and chief executive officer of the UP Expressways Industrial Development Authority and UP State Highways Authority.

During Adityanath’s first tenure from 2017 to 22, Singh handled the rural development and Panchayati Raj departments.

Singh, who has an undergraduate degree in agriculture science and a Master’s in agronomy, is considered an expert on rural issues.

His expertise in agriculture pushed the chief minister to make him the agriculture production commissioner and additional chief secretary for the Panchayati Raj and horticulture departments.

A ‘strict monitor’ of civil servants

In his new role as chief secretary, Adityanath has given him the task of not only monitoring government functioning but also keeping tabs on bureaucratic functioning where political sources say he is emerging as a “strict monitor”.

A source in the CMO told ThePrint that Manoj Singh, additional chief secretary (ACS) forest, environment and climate change and two UP Pollution Control Board officers were shunted out last month “due to the chief secretary’s monitoring”. Government officials say these were routine transfers.

Government sources say the opening of a slaughterhouse and the expansion of another two, allegedly “without following due process” were among the reasons behind their sudden removal.

According to sources in the Uttar Pradesh government, the chief secretary was annoyed that due process was not followed while giving the nod to slaughterhouses. He then informed the chief minister about it.

Since the Adityanath government came to power in 2017, slaughterhouses have been a sensitive issue as the government is focused on safeguarding the state’s cattle population. Singh understands the sensitivity of the issue for ‘Maharaj ji’, the source added.

Another functionary in the CMO told ThePrint that though Sanjay Prasad, principal secretary to the chief minister, and S.P. Goyal, additional chief secretary to the chief minister, had important roles in the CMO, Singh was acting as the “taskmaster”.

The functionary said Singh not only conducts review meetings across every department but also travels extensively across district zones, or Mandals, to assess ground realities.

Additionally, he holds daily feedback sessions with the chief minister and is in direct touch with district magistrates and Chief Development Officers (CDOs).

He added that Singh plays the role of a crucial bridge between district officials and the chief minister which is helping streamline bureaucratic functioning.

“Just like a strict CM, we have a strict chief secretary also. He speaks less but his words are worth noticing during the meetings. Junior officers have a fear of him whenever he conducts review meetings. The chief minister appreciates such strict officers,” a senior Uttar Pradesh bureaucrat told ThePrint on the condition of anonymity.

Singh played a pivotal role in successfully implementing Adityanath’s vision even in his earlier roles. As additional chief secretary of Panchayati Raj, for instance, his efforts were key to the declaration of all 75 districts in Uttar Pradesh as open-defecation-free and in constructing the highest number of toilets in the state.

Singh, who hails from Ranchi, is a low-profile bureaucrat who rarely gives interviews. He isn’t active on social media and spends 14-odd hours in the office every day – a quality that impresses Adityanath, says a functionary in the CMO.

He said Singh doesn’t seek the limelight like his predecessors—IAS stalwarts Awanish Awasthi of the 1987 batch and Navneet Sehgal of the 1988 batch—who dominated the state’s bureaucracy for years.

“MKS does not highlight himself like Awasthi and Sehgal but his value is due to his efficient work and long hours. He interacts less with the media also,” he said.

‘Man of principles’

Colleagues say Singh is a man of principles known for his efficiency.

Rajneesh Dubey, a former Uttar Pradesh bureaucrat and batchmate,  recalls how Singh once turned down a key posting in Varanasi so it wouldn’t appear as though he was chasing Dubey’s postings.

“Manoj is a low-key person but cannot compromise with his principles. In the early 1990s, when I was posted in Balrampur as SDM, then Manoj replaced me,”  Dubey told ThePrint.

“A few months later, after my transfer from Varanasi as CDO, Manoj was about to replace me but he refused to join and requested the top officials to send a junior officer. Otherwise, it would seem like he was after my postings. Though Varanasi’s posting was considered an important posting, he refused.”

Dubey and Singh are from Banaras Hindu University and were roommates in the training academy of Nainital.

He remembers Singh was a badminton lover and they won a doubles title during their training days together. “I am a morning person but I remember he is a late-night person who used to read fiction till night,” he said.

While some BJP leaders in Uttar Pradesh believe that caste played a significant role in Singh’s appointment as he is from the same caste as the chief minister, many MLAs have a different view.

“’In the bureaucracy, more than caste, efficiency matters. Awasthi was a Brahmin but the CM trusted him as he was efficient. Similarly, Singh is a Thakur but an efficient officer who gives time to MLAs whenever we go to discuss anything. We assume that if we got his nod it means we have got a green signal from Maharaj ji,” a senior BJP MLA told ThePrint.

(Edited by Sugita Katyal)