New Delhi, Dec. 31: The race for the post of chairman and managing director of Bharat Sanchar Nigam (BSNL) — the country’s largest telecom company — has ended with the provisional appointment of V. P. Sinha.

Sinha, who is BSNL’s member (planning), will take over as the chairman and managing director on January 1.

At the same time, the Public Sector Enterprises Board (PSEB) has started screening the applications for the appointment of a permanent BSNL chief. The board is responsible for selecting the candidates for the post of directors and CMDs in public sector companies.

Sinha, who is currently the senior-most officer in BSNL, has vast experience in rural areas and project planning. His detractors feel that at a time of intense competition in the telecom sector, a person with marketing experience should head this telecom major to counter moves made by the private players.

Simultaneously, a strong lobby within the Indian telecom service officers is pushing for the candidature of Govind Das Gahia who currently holds the post of chairman and managing director of Telecommunications Consultants India (TCIL). Gahia was also in the race for the post of CMD of Mahanagar Telephone Nigam Ltd and lost out to R. S. P. Sinha, who is not an Indian telecom service officer.

Sources in the Union communications ministry said none of the existing directors in BSNL are eligible for the post since all of them, including Sinha, have less than two years of service left before retirement.