While many —- from IIM graduates to yoga guru Baba Ramdev to assorted RTI activists — are throwing their weight behind former IPS officer Kiran Bedi as the next Chief Information Commissioner, two men at the Central Information Commission are watching the developments with keen interest, hoping the government abides by the long-standing “convention” of selecting the next-in-line this time. While one is an economist and an education specialist, popularly known as the “professor”, the other is a former civil servant who helped draft the four-year-old Right to Information Act, 2005.

Professor M M Ansari and A N Tiwari are the senior-most information commissioners — though Ansari says he precedes his colleague by “two to three months” — and of course the two top contenders for the top post, to be vacated by Wajahat Habibullah on November 8.

Busy in their August Kranti Bhavan offices on Tuesday in what may be a few hours left before the government decides who will be the next chief, Ansari says he is the “senior most” of all the information commissioners and hopes that the government abides by the long-standing “conventions” of selecting the next-in-line.

“My friend Tiwari was at the time in DoPT. It took him two or three months to get all the paperwork done from DoPT and join the Information Commission,” he says. “The government will decide very soon, tonight or tomorrow.”

With a year more to go at the Commission, Ansari says he “never talks about these things” but has made an exception this time. “Tiwari is a friend of mine. I will be only happy to work as an information commissioner with him as chief,” says the professor, dressed in blue formals and dark pants.

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