Plum postings for boards, corpns soon

Bhanu P Lohumi

Tribune News Service

Shimla, July 15

Gearing up for the Lok Sabha elections, the state BJP is on a consolidation mode and has taken up an elaborate exercise for appointing senior party functionaries and dedicated workers as chairpersons, vice-chairpersons and members of Board of Directors of boards and corporations.

The BJP was critical of the Congress for raising an army of chairpersons, vice -chairpersons of boards and corporations and had indicated that it would go slow on all such political appointments.

However, political considerations are weighing heavily on the government and the party is under pressure for these sinecure jobs from senior party leaders and key functionaries waiting in wings for the past seven months and appointments are expected in a month.

Initially, the government was inclined to appoint MLAs to these posts, but being office of profit, the proposal was dropped and now a section of the party is batting for appointing defeated MLAs also.

The defeated MLAs are senior leaders with a sizable vote bank and ignoring them would not be in the interest of the party and there is no harm if they are respectably rehabilitated, senior party leaders said.

There are about 200 posts of chairpersons, vice-chairpersons and Board of Directors of autonomous bodies and accommodating senior party leaders and dedicated workers, who had been working silently without any reward, is no favour but just recognition of their services to the party, the leaders opined.

There is a long list of aspirants, including more than 10 leaders, who had held the posts of chairperson and vice-chairperson in the governments headed by former chief ministers Shanta Kumar and Prem Kumar Dhumal.

Seniority, dedication, public image and mass following would be the criteria for these appointments and all efforts would be made to ensure that not a single vote goes astray. Dedicated leaders and workers are the backbone of the party and accommodating them would strengthen the party and encourage other workers to work with dedication said BJP state chief Satpal Singh Satti.

There are more than 20 autonomous boards and corporations in the state, but political appointments are not made in some bodies such as state electricity board, financial corporation, regulatory commissions while specific qualifications as per the directions of the National green Tribunal are being made essential for the appointment of the Chairperson of the State Pollution Control Board.

Similarly, there are more than 150 posts of non-official members in Board of Directors of various bodies, awaiting political appointees.