JOIN USChief Minister Jagadish Shettar has kept out BJP MLAs out of the first batch of appointments made to 19 boards and corporations on Friday.
The turn of the MLAs will come during second installment of appointments, including some plum corporations.
The appointments are seen in political circles as a ploy by the BJP to strengthen its cadre and organisation by accommodating party workers and also reward legislators who remain loyal to the party ahead of the Assembly polls.
Of the 19 appointed to various boards and corporations, several of them are long time BJP workers, some with links originating to its Jan Sangh days.
Munichanappa, M B Nandeesh, Shivabeerappa and Krishnadevaraya who figured in Friday’s appointment list have put in more than three decades in the BJP, party sources said. As many as 13 MLAs will be accommodated in plum corporations soon, the sources added.
The State government on Friday also created the Karnataka State Commission for the Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes and appointed BJP State Vice-President E Ashwath Narayan as its chairman. He will have a tenure of three years.
Other appointments
Karnataka Coir Development Corporation: Sheela Shetty, Bayaluseeme Development Board: Ravinarayana Reddy, Karnataka State Agro Corn Products: Munichinnappa, Mysore Sales International (MSIL): M B Nandeesh, Marketing Consultants and Agencies:
K Shivabeerappa, Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation: Sachidananda Murthy, Mysore Paints and Varnish: M S Krishne Gowda, Karnataka Exhibition Authority: Mahendra, Zoo Authority of Karnataka:
E Maruthi Pawar, Karnataka State Forest Industries Corporation: M B Devaiah, Karnataka Soaps and Detergents: Lakshminarayana, Karnataka Silk Industries Corporation: Noorondu Shetty, Kanteerava Studios: Ramaiah, Karnataka Tourism Development Corporation: Krishnadevaraya, Karnataka Scheduled Tribes Development Corporation: A V Nagendra, Malnad Area Development Board: N Manjunatha and Coastal Development Authority: Thingale Vikramarjuna Hegde.