The state cabinet, which met here on Wednesday, decided to appoint Biswanath Sinha as the new Chief Secretary of Kerala. He will succeed A Jayathilak, who retires on June 30. 

A 1992-batch IAS officer, Sinha is currently serving as the Additional Chief Secretary, Home and Vigilance Department. A native of Bihar, Sinha had served in various departments like Environment, Finance, Sports and Public Works.

Two senior bureaucrats were also in contention for the Chief Secretary post - Finance Secretary K R Jyothilal and Sanjeev Kaushik, who is on deputation.  Kaushik had communicated to the government that he would not be able to return to Kerala for a new assignment. 

K R Jyothilal, who has maintained a neutral stand across changing regimes, was also considered for the post. UDF government, however, prioritised seniority and chose Sinha for the top administrative post in the state. 

The tenures of Jayathilak and former Chief Secretary Sarada Muraleedharan witnessed evident rift within the administrative brass and were marked by suspensions of IAS officers N Prasanth and B Ashok. 

The UDF government which undertook an extensive rejig of IAS officers also reinstated Ashok and Prasanth while allowing disciplinary proceedings to continue.