BENGALURU: The long wait may soon be over for Congress workers and legislators eyeing plum postings in state boards and corporations, with the party gearing up to complete the appointments before Dasara.
AICC General Secretary Randeep Singh Surjewala is expected to arrive in Bengaluru in the next two or three days, and party sources say the leadership is keen to wrap up nominations to 85-90 boards and corporations, accounting for nearly 5,000 to 6,000 positions. While some sources indicated that MLC nominations could also be finalised with the board appointments, KPCC sources said the issue is unlikely to be taken up this time and may have to wait a few more days.
Of the 85 boards and corporations up for grabs, only about a third are considered high-value postings, while the remaining 60 are seen as relatively less attractive.
It has triggered intense jockeying among Congress leaders, with the most coveted being Karnataka State Pollution Control Board, Karnataka Housing Board, Jungle Lodges and Resorts, Karnataka State Small Industries Development Corporation, Karnataka Soaps and Detergents, Karnataka State Warehousing Corporation, Karnataka Urban Infrastructure Development and Finance Corporation, Karnataka Urban Water Supply and Drainage Board and Karnataka State Drugs and Logistics.
Chief Minister DK Shivakumar and Deputy CM G Parameshwara are reportedly under sustained pressure from party workers and legislators over the past few weeks to push ahead with the long-pending appointments, considering this could be the second and last round of nominations for boards and corporations before assembly polls in 2028. That pressure appears to have paid off, with KPCC president BK Hariprasad confirming that the process was under way.
“We will decide on appointments to boards and corporations and hope to complete them soon,” he said. CM Shivakumar, Parameshwara, Hariprasad and Randeep Surjewala will meet and decide on the final list of appointments. Sources said the party would stick to a 3:7 formula in distributing the posts —30 per cent going to MLAs and MLCs, and the remaining for party workers.