New Delhi (11.03.2025): The top BJP leadership is considering many names to finalise six names committed to the party to pick up as Advisors/OSDs to six Cabinet Ministers in the Delhi government. The ministers will also get a senior DANICS officers as their secretaries which is a significant position playing pivotal role in the functioning of the government.
Sources said there are lots of pressure being exerted from the inner circle in picking up names of Advisors/OSDs. Many BJP functionaries are keen and lobbying to land at the Delhi Secretariat.
The BJP leadership plans to appoint Advisors as key functionaries attached to each Minister to keep a watch on every development on actions taken by the Ministers. Former CM Arvind Kejriwal also had similar approach as he had placed uncounted AAP workers with each Minister -- one as OSD and several others in smaller capacity.
During AAP government, each minister accommodated several party workers. Thus, each floor having a minister's office in Delhi Secretariat was flooded by several party functionaries and they kept hovering around the ministers. This never happened during the fifteen-year long tenure of former Chief Minister Sheila Dikshit who had the unflinching support of dedicated bureaucracy and her governance model was very smooth despite the BJP government at the Centre.
The New Chief Minister Rekha Gupta has taken over the reins of Delhi after securing thumping majority in the recently concluded Assembly Elections. The BJP has secured power in the city after a gap of 27 years.
The new BJP government in the city is facing a daunting task to carry out all round development of the city and provide a robust administration. They have to fulfil several promises made during elections. Sources claimed that the free bus ride scheme for women in Delhi is facing serious allegations of hugely inflated bills running into crore. There are several other areas of irregularities. The new CM has to continue this scheme for women but will have to plug the massive irregularities.
The team of six cabinet ministers, their secretaries and Advisors have several tasks to address immediately. They need to streamline functioning of departments, provide efficient administration, identify the new verticals for development and plug irregularities that have creeped into the system during AAP regime. The BJP government has to undertake the cleansing drive at a very large scale. There is a tough task ahead for the government to begin with. Bureaucracy will also watch the functioning of Advisors very keenly.
(Sanjay Kumar Jha)
