Anil Baijal will be the next Lieutenant Governor of Delhi after President Pranab Mukherjee accepted Najeeb Jung’s resignation.
Baijal, a member of the executive council of the RSS-leaning Vivekananda International Foundation, several of whose former members have been appointed to senior positions by the Modi government including National Security Advisor Ajit Doval.
Baijal, was the Union home secretary in the Atal Bihari Vajpayee government in the past. Among other roles, he has also been the vice-chairman of Delhi Development Authority, CMD of Air India and the CEO of Prasar Bharti.
Baijal was earlier widely expected to be appointed the governor of Jammu and Kashmir but his appointment postponed after the valley erupted in violence following the death of Hizb commander, Burhani Wani in July.
70-year-old Baijal, whose appointment papers have been sent to President Pranab Mukherjee for his approval, had retired from service in 2006 as Secretary, Urban Development Ministry.
Baijal was actively associated with the designing and roll-out of Rs 60,000 crore Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission (JNNURM) launched by the Manmohan Singh government.
In a shock decision, Jung had resigned on 22 December.
A statement from his office had said that he would be returning to his first love, which is, academics.
Jung, during his tenure, had several run-ins with the elected government of Delhi and was often at loggerheads with Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal.