Kolkata, Dec 2 (IANS): The people of West Bengal will welcome the New Year with the appointments to two of the most crucial administrative positions in the state -- the Chief Secretary (CS) and Director General of Police (DGP).

All eyes are now on the state Secretariat’s decision about the replacements for the two coveted posts as the country will hold the general elections in 2024.

Incumbent Chief Secretary H.K. Dwivedi's term, which is already in extension, is scheduled to end this month and according to Secretariat sources, his replacement has become indispensable.

Although there has been no official announcement, insiders have said that the current Additional Chief Secretary (home) is the frontrunner for the position.

“As per the trend in the last few cases the Additional Chief Secretary in charge of the state Home Department takes over as the Chief Secretary. So going by that trend it can be said that Gopalika is the frontrunner \,” said a senior official from the state Personnel & Administrative Reforms Department.

Similar is the case for Bengal's incumbent DGP Manoj Malviya, who is also scheduled to retire this month.

Although the state government has the provision to seek his extension for an additional six months, as it did in case of the Chief Secretary earlier, there has been no indication so far on this count from the office of the state’s highest political-administration.

Sources from the state police directorate said that one of the names that is moving around in the circles as Malviya’s probable successor is Rajeev Kumar, the current principal secretary to the state information technology and electronics department and also the former commissioner of Kolkata Police.