After toying with the idea of appointing a Gujarat cadre IPS officer as next Delhi CP, the Centre has come round to the view that it would be politically prudent to let the post go to a UT cadre officer. In the process of deliberation on the issue, it was felt that the Kejriwal government of Delhi, given its disposition for martyrdom, must be deprived of any excuse to hit back at the government. Consequently, the choice of names for Delhi CP has narrowed down to Alok Kumar Verma (IPS:1979:UT) and Dharmendra (IPS:1984:UT). Since the incumbent CP B S Bassi (IPS:1978:UT) is scheduled to vacate the post on February 29, the air is thick with rumours and speculations. At one point not too long ago, there were several contenders for the job besides the two names mentioned above. Among them were Deepak Mishra (IPS:1984:UT), Surat Police Commissioner Rakesh Asthana (IPS:1984:GJ) and Ahmedabad Police Commissioner Shivanand Jha (IPS:1983:GJ). The inclusion of two Gujarat cadre officers added an element of surprise and it turned into a sort of media hype. Asthana and Jha seemed to have finally been dropped from final consideration for the same political reason for which they found themselves in the reckoning in the first place.