Siddu, KPCC prez fail to finalise board appointments

Chief Minister Siddaramiah and Karnataka Pradesh CongressCommittee (KPCC) president G Parameshwara put off their scheduled visit to the national capital on Wednesday as they could not finalise the list of names to be presented to the party high command for appointment to boards and corporations as chairpersons.

Though the stated reason for the postponement of tour was to attend the funeral of former KPCC president V S Koujalgi, who passed away in Belgaum on Wednesday, party insiders told Deccan Herald that the list of names was not ready despite several rounds of discussions.

The Congress high command wanted the chief minister and KPCC president to sit together and finalise the names soon. Interestingly, Digvijay Singh, Congress general secretary in charge of Karnataka, who is travelling to Lucknow, is due to return to the national capital on Wednesday night. As per the earlier schedule, Siddaramaiah and Parameshwara were to meet Singh and present the list to Congress president Sonia Gandhi for final approval on Thursday.

The next visit by the chief minister and PCC president is not yet fixed. But the party leaders said it would happen only if both of them “are able to finalise the list.”

Despite several rounds of talks, the list is getting delayed due to growing differences between Siddamraiah and Parameshwara on several issues. Besides, they are also finding it  difficult to accommodate a large number of aspirants for the few available posts.

15 lucrative posts

Though there are around 150 posts, several politicians are vying only for 15 top profit making or high profile boards or corporations.

It is also learnt that the chief minister also conveyed his reservation on making any appointment now apprehending that there would be dissidence by the leaders who failed to get any berths. A large number of Karnataka Congress MLAs and ex-MLAs who had descended on the national capital for lobbying have left for Bangalore disappointed.