IAS Officer Anita Singh from the 1990 batch has the maximum clout in Akhilesh Yadav’s raj. So much so that she persuades the CM from changing his decision. For instance, this March, Akhilesh passed an order to have one of his dear officials Sanjay Aggarwal appointed as his chief secretary. But Madam Anita Singh would have none of it and so the CM had to retract his order within 24 hours. Anita is considered to one of the closest and reliable officers to the SP supremo Mulayam Singh. She sits on the same room on the fifth floor of UP Secretariat where Shashank Shekhar, who was extremely dear to Mayawati, had his office. Akhilesh’s ministers have to wait for two hours to meet Madam Singh. And although officially Madam has to handle departments such as administration efficiency and infrastructure, unofficially it is mandatory to take her permission for all important files of the CM. That is because it is only through her that Mulayam is represented in the important decisions taken by Akhilesh’s government. And everyone in the UP government knows this by now.