KAT chief Jadhav new chief secretary? Order likely today

Bengaluru: Despite the Veerashaiva Mahasabha, an influential Lingayat community body, lobbying in favour of Additional Chief Secretary, V. Umesh, Chief Minister, Siddaramaiah has reportedly made up his mind on appointing Karnataka Appellate Tribunal (KAT) chairman, Aravind Jadhav as the next chief secretary.

Mr Jadhav is the seniormost IAS officer after incumbent Chief Secretary, Kaushik Mukherjee, who will retire on Thursday. The state government is likely to issue the appointment order by Wednesday evening.

Speaking to Deccan Chronicle, a senior bureaucrat on the condition of anonymity said, “Mr Siddaramaiah was in a quandary after the Lingayat body openly lobbied for Mr Umesh. The CM reportedly decided to play the ‘seniority card’ to save himself from being portrayed as an anti-Lingayat leader and invite the majority community’s wrath.”

According to the source, Mr Jadhav meets both conditions raised by the Lingayat body- that the state government must adhere to seniority as well as appoint a Kannadiga as the next CS. “Mr Jadhav hails from Dharwad district, his tenure will end in six months. In these six months, most senior IAS officers including Mr Umesh will retire, so the CM may not have to face the blame of scuttling a Lingayat officer’s chances. He may also be able to nullify the impact of the Veerashaiva Mahasabha’s campaign in Lingayat dominated areas in the state,” the source said. The source said Mr Siddaramaiah is not keen on inviting criticism on this issue when elections to the Zilla Panchayats and Taluk Panchayats are round the corner. “The appointment of the CS could have become a big issue during the coming elections had the government picked one of the two officers whose names are doing the rounds in the last couple of weeks, as neither of them is a Kannadiga,” the source contended.