Dr Rathan U. Kelkar, who was Kerala’s chief electoral officer before being appointed by the new United Democratic Front (UDF) government as secretary to chief minister V.D. Satheesan, has all along been regarded as an efficient bureaucrat commanding integrity. The 2003 batch IAS officer has had prime postings even during the previous decade of Left Front rule. It is then ironical that the Opposition Left is making a hue and cry over his new assignment and he is being accused of facilitating the UDF’s landslide victory in the assembly polls.
Kelkar was appointed chief electoral officer by the Pinarayi Vijayan government in December 2024, and no accusations were raised against him over electoral integrity, not even during the Election Commission’s Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of voter rolls in the state.
Before that, Kelkar was mostly associated with the health and IT sectors. He served as director of the National Rural Health Mission in Kerala, playing a key role in designing strategies during the Covid pandemic, and the State IT Mission. While administering Kannur, he was adjudged the best district collector of Kerala.
“Kelkar is regarded as one of the most promising IAS officers in the Kerala cadre. A thorough professional, he carries his brief to even his sleep and comes up with solutions to crises,” noted a former Kerala chief secretary, speaking anonymously to INDIA TODAY.
Kelkar took charge in Satheesan’s office on May 24. In questioning his appointment, both the CPI(M) and BJP have referenced Congress leader Rahul Gandhi’s criticism of West Bengal chief electoral officer Manoj Agarwal being made chief secretary of the state under the new BJP dispensation.
But Satheesan has defended Kelkar’s appointment by pointing to his outstanding track-record, emphasising that due process was followed, and asking if the Vijayan administration had made Kelkar chief electoral officer to hand a mega victory to the UDF.
“I want officers in my team who can deliver for the people, not me personally. I’ve selected them by reviewing their track-record, “Satheeshan has said, dismissing the view that appointing the state’s topmost electoral officer as secretary to the chief minister right after polls raised questions about the credibility of the election process itself.
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