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But one thing is certain: the extension opens the door for the government to select specific individuals rather than simply those based on seniority.
Sources within the army analyzing the situation said that while Vice-Chief Commander Upendra Dwivedi is the most senior and therefore could be selected by the new government after he is sworn in, other individuals whose names have been sent to the Cabinet Personnel Committee are also now considered likely candidates.
However, if the government decides to induct someone else, the natural order of succession will change. Keeping in view the principle of seniority, the order of the next two Army chiefs after Lt Gen Dwivedi’s retirement is clear.
The main contenders for the top post are:
Lieutenant General Upendra Dwivedi
Lt Gen Dwivedi, the current Deputy Army Chief, is the obvious candidate as he is the senior-most of the five people sent to the Appointments Committee. Before taking over the role in February, he served as Commander-in-Chief of the Northern Command, which manages the border with Pakistan and China.
While the standoff with China continues on the border, security forces have been facing successive retreats in the Poonch Rajouri region of Jammu and Kashmir, allowing terrorists to carry out multiple attacks and ambushes with impunity.
Though he was the Northern Commander, tactical responsibility for the situation on the ground rested with the corps commanders, the sources said.
Known for his constant push for infusion of more technology into the Northern Command, Lt Gen Dwivedi is an alumnus of Sainik School, Rewa (Madhya Pradesh) and was commissioned into 18 Jammu and Kashmir Rifles in 1984 and later became the Commanding Officer of the force.
Lieutenant General Ajay Kumar Singh
Southern Command Commander Lt Gen AK Singh is the second most senior officer in the Army.
Though he and Lt Gen Dwivedi were from the same class at the Indian Military Academy (IMA), as per Army rules, the latter is senior in the merit ranks, even though Singh is a few weeks senior to him.
Defence sources said there was still a chance that either of them could be appointed as Army Chief, as was the case with former Indian Air Force chief Air Chief Marshal RKS Bhaduriah, who was appointed on the day he was due to retire.
An alumnus of the National Defence Academy, Pune and the Indian Military Academy, Dehradun, the officer was commissioned into the 7/11 Gorkha Rifles under India’s first Chief of Defence Staff (CDS), General Bipin Rawat, in December 1984.
He commanded the 1/11 Gorkha Rifles on the Line of Control (LoC) in Jammu and Kashmir, an elite brigade on the Western Front, frontline counter-insurgency forces in the Kashmir Valley and 33 Corps in the North-East.
Lieutenant General Suchindra Kumar
The third is Lt. Gen. Suchindra Kumar, the current Commander of the Northern Command.
An alumnus of the Sainik School, Bijapur, he was commissioned with the 1st Battalion, Assam Regiment in June 1985. He took over as Commander Northern Command in February, succeeding Lt. Gen. Dwivedi, but served as Deputy Commandant (a post of Army Commander rank) for almost a year.
He was appointed commander in various theatres including 59 Rashtriya Rifles Battalion (Assam), 120 Infantry Brigade and as Brigadier General of Corps in the North East. As a Major General, he commanded a division along the Line of Control and as a Corps Commander, he commanded 16 Corps based at Nagrota.
In his staff positions, he served as Deputy Director of the Quartermaster General’s Office of the Army Ministry of Integrated Defense, Deputy Director of the Army Military Intelligence Department, Director of Military Intelligence, Vice Chief of the Army Staff (for Strategy), and Deputy Chief of Staff.
Lieutenant General NS Raja Subramani
He joined the Garhwal Rifles in 1985, the same age as Lt Gen Kumar but one year junior to him.
He commanded a battalion during Operation Rhino, commanded an infantry brigade along the international border and the Black Cat Division of the Eastern Command. He also commanded the Uttar Bharat region and the Pakistan-focused Kharga Strike Corps in Ambala in 2020.
In his staff positions, he has served as brigade commander of the Mountain Brigade, assistant military secretary to the Military Secretariat Division, chief of staff of the Eastern Command, deputy director of the Military Intelligence Department at the Joint Headquarters of the Ministry of Defense, brigadier general of the Eastern Command, and chief of staff of the Northern Command.
Sources said it had already been announced that Lt Gen Subramani would be coming to New Delhi as his Deputy Commander and Lieutenant General Anindoya Sengupta would replace him as the new Central Command Commander.
Lieutenant General Johnson P. Mathews
Lt Gen Mathew is currently the Chief of Integrated Defence Staff (CISC) reporting to the CDS. He was commissioned into the Punjab Regiment by IMA on 14 December 1985. He has served as the Commander of III Corps and has experience in both staff and command appointments in key counter-insurgency operations in the Northern and Eastern Theatres.
(Edited by Tony Lai)
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