Lobbying begins for posts of board, corporation chairman
With the BJP forming the government for the third time in a row in Haryana, intense lobbying has started for the posts of chairmen of various boards and corporations.
MLAs of the ruling party, who missed the ministerial bus, and other senior leaders, including the BJP candidates losing the Assembly poll, are lobbying for the prized positions of chairmen of various boards and corporations.
Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini inducted 13 MLAs into his ministry leaving no slot vacant, while two MLAs were elected as the Speaker and Deputy Speaker of the Vidhan Sabha.
As many as 32 MLAs of the saffron party and three Independent MLAs extending support to the ruling party are yet to be ‘adjusted’ by the ruling party. These are besides the senior BJP leaders who lost the recent poll, and other office-bearers of the party eyeing the plum posts.
There are at least two dozen boards and corporations in Haryana whose chairmen are ‘political appointees’. In the past, a number of MLAs and senior leader owing allegiance to the ruling party have been appointed as chairmen of these statutory bodies. In fact, the Independent MLAs supporting the government are usually appointed as chairmen of prominent boards.
Suitable reward soon
The MLAs missing the ministerial bus and other senior leaders would be suitably rewarded for their hard work and commitment to the party ideology in due course of time. —A senior BJP functionary
Sources said these leaders were approaching the party high command and senior state leaders, including Saini and BJP chief Mohan Lal Badoli, in this regard. “All connections, including their RSS links, are being used to get the plum posts,” the sources said.
Prominent among the boards and corporations are — Haryana Bureau of Public Enterprises, Haryana Land Reclamation and Development Corporation, Haryana Agro Industries Corporation Limited, Haryana Housing Board, Sugarfed, Haryana Khadi and Village Industries Board, Haryana Women Development Corporation, HAFED, Haryana Backward Classes Welfare Corporation, Haryana Vyapari Kalyan Board, Harco Bank, Haryana Youth Commission, Haryana Scheduled Castes Finance and Development Corporation and Haryana Dairy Development Co-Operative Federation Limited.
A majority of these boards and corporations have huge budgets and discretion at the disposal of their chairmen. The boards and corporations work in coordination with various ministries, but they enjoy a degree of autonomy. Besides pay and perks, the chairmen enjoy privileges like official vehicle, accommodation and allowances.
A senior functionary of the BJP government said since they were a ‘worker-centric’ party, the party rewarded its dedicated workers with positions at various levels of government. “The MLAs missing the ministerial bus and other senior leaders would be suitably rewarded for their hard work and commitment to the party ideology in due course of time,” he asserted.
Undermining victims’ trust
The chairmen of boards and corporations enjoy privileges such as pay, perks, official vehicle and accommodation. They also wield considerable influence in policy matters, especially during meetings, including those of the board of directors.
