Bengaluru: After dilly-dallying for months, Karnataka's Janata Dal-Secular (JD-S) government has finally appointed nine of its 37 legislators as chairman of state-run boards and corporations, said a party official on Wednesday.
"The legislators were selected for the posts in consultation with our party supremo and former Prime Minister H.D. Deve Gowda, party's state working president A.H. Vishwanath and party's senior leader H.D. Revanna on Tuesday as the general elections are nearing," a party official told media here.
Karnataka allies Congress and JD-S, as part of their coalition arrangement, have agreed to hold top posts in 30 boards and corporations in a 20:10 ratio in proportion to their representation in the assembly. Accordingly, Chief Minister H.D. Kumaraswamy on January 7 appointed 14 Congress legislators, including a woman MLA, as heads of various boards and corporations. "He has also appointed four JD-S lawmakers as parliamentary secretaries according to the arrangement with the Congress, which already has eight parliamentary secretaries," added the official.
Two more Congress legislators were appointed as chairman of Karnataka Forest Industrial Corporation and Karnataka Tanda (Tribals) Development Corporation. The posts enjoy cabinet status with commensurate perquisites.Representation in the 34-member Council of Ministers is also in the ratio of 22:12, as the Congress has 80 legislators, including the Speaker. Ten of JD-S' 37 legislators, including Kumaraswamy, are cabinet ministers in the coalition government' while two vacancies are yet to be filled.