New Delhi (02.10.2025): In a rare achievement in the Indian Administrative Service, Alka Tiwari (IAS: 1988), who retired as the Chief Secretary of Jharkhand on Tuesday, has immediately stepped into the Constitutional role of the State Election Commissioner, a post previously held by her husband, Devendra Kumar Tiwari.
The back-to-back appointment, which came swiftly on October 1, 2025, after she demitted office, places the Tiwari couple in a unique league: they are the only couple in the country's bureaucracy to have consecutively occupied both of the state’s two most coveted positions—the top administrative post of Chief Secretary and the key electoral oversight role of the State Election Commissioner.
She retired on September 30, handing over the administrative reins of the state to Avinash Kumar (IAS: 1993). The very next day, a notification was issued announcing her appointment as the State Election Commissioner under Article 243 of the Constitution.
Following Her Husband’s Footsteps:
The unusual synchronicity in their careers is notable. D K Tiwari had earlier served as the Chief Secretary (Apr 2019 - March 2020) of Jharkhand before taking on the State Election Commissioner’s role between Feb 2021- March 2025.
Years later, Alka Tiwari not only succeeded him to the Chief Secretary’s chair (Nov 2024- Sept 2025) but has now followed that tenure by succeeding him again to the SEC post.
In a bureaucratic environment often rife with lobbying and pursuits of plum assignments, Ms. Tiwari’s career trajectory stands out. She never joined the league of a handful of career civil servants who choose to run from pillar to post for plum posts and positions. She is known among colleagues for maintaining a low profile and focusing on service delivery, choosing to remain a "silent civil servant" who retired with grace only to be elevated to a Constitutional post immediately after.
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