By Arun Pratap Singh
Dehradun, 16 Jan: After the civic elections in Uttarakhand, the Dhami government is likely to reorganise Lal Batti appointments. The Lal Batti appointees are labelled as responsibility holders by the BJP Government. Sources remind that several key positions in various commissions and religious institutions have fallen vacant due to completion of tenures by the incumbents and this would necessitate fresh appointments, re-appointments or reshuffle in certain cases.
Sources added that the tenure of the chairpersons of the State Women’s Commission and the Child Rights Protection Commission have ended this week, along with the term of the chairman of the Shri Badri-Kedar Temple Committee (BKTC).
The term of Dr Geeta Khanna, Chairperson of the Uttarakhand Child Rights Protection Commission, ended on 6 January 2025. She was appointed chairperson on 6 January 2022, and along with her, six members of the commission were also appointed, whose terms have also now ended along with her tenure. Similarly, the tenure of State Women’s Commission Chairperson Kusum Kandwal and Badri-Kedar Temple Committee Chairman Ajendra Ajay have also ended on the same day.
Additionally, the chairperson of the Uttarakhand Minority Commission has been vacant since December 2023. The positions of two vice-chairpersons are also vacant in the commission. The term of Vice President Sardar Iqbal Singh ended in April 2024, while the term of Vice President Mazhar Naeem Nawab ended in September 2024.
Currently, the Model Code of Conduct is in force in the state due to the civic elections. However, the government can make appointments to these vacant posts as soon as the code of conduct ends. These appointments will provide the government an opportunity to strengthen its political and administrative position. It will be interesting to see which new faces the Dhami government appoints to these posts, especially in commissions and religious institutions where the leadership crisis has deepened. Sources also indicate that Dr Geeta Khanna, owing to her proximity to CM Pushkar Singh Dhami and her performance as the chairperson of Child Rights Protection Commission, may be re-appointed.
The process of organisational elections in BJP in the state is also expected to begin soon after the civic polls. Insiders in the BJP claimed that the organisational elections this time are likely to result in appointment of proactive leaders to key positions. The sources claimed that the current office bearers and others are being monitored closely by the top leaders of the party. They claimed that diligent and dedicated party workers are likely to be preferred over others in the new organisational structure of Uttarakhand BJP. Besides this, those who were denied tickets in the assembly elections and in municipal elections but still chose to work selflessly in the election campaign may also be rehabilitated or adjusted in district and the state level units. The sources claimed that the responsibilities given from the ward level to the civic election in-charge are being monitored, and a special team is assessing it from the state level to the district and division levels. BJP General Secretary Aditya Kothari stated that rebel candidates in local bodies have been shown the way out of the organisation. The party is now keeping an eye on workers who are not involved in the election campaign and whose complaints are reaching the state leadership, with these being cross-checked.
Additionally, workers indulging in sabotage are also being monitored. Kothari emphasised that the party is taking the civic elections very seriously According to the BJP sources, this is the first time that an independent agency is monitoring the workers in these elections, and the future of these workers will be decided based on the agency’s report.
