Today in Politics: Amid state Congress revamp, Rahul Gandhi in Gujarat for two-day visit

On April 12, the AICC appointed 42 AICC and 183 Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) observers for overseeing the process of appointment of the party committee presidents in 33 districts and 8 major cities of Gujarat.

Gandhi will hold an orientation meeting with these AICC and PCC observers in Ahmedabad on Tuesday before they embark on the state-wide exercise of selecting presidents of 41 district units, Gujarat Congress president Shaktisinh Gohil said.

On Wednesday, Gandhi will address party workers at Modasa town in Aravalli district to kick-start the pilot project of selecting district unit chiefs through this process.

At the AICC session, the party, in a first, passed a Gujarat-specific special resolution charting the Congress’s course for the 2027 Assembly elections, as reported by Leena Misra, following which the various observers were appointed. Strengthening the district-level units, as per the decisions taken at the AICC session, is central to the party’s revival plan.

The resolution, promising to walk the path of Mahatma Gandhi and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, also proposes a caste census in Gujarat if the Congress comes to power.

The Congress has been out of power in Gujarat for three decades. In the 2022 Assembly polls, it won just 17 seats, and is now down to 12 after several MLAs quit mainly to join the BJP.

In Karnataka, MUDA verdict and Vokkaligas meet

A Special Court in Karnataka will on Tuesday deliver its verdict on a petition filed by the Enforcement Directorate (ED), which contested the Lokayukta police’s closure report that gave a clean chit to Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in the MUDA site allotment case.

During the hearing, the counsel for the Lokayukta argued that the ED’s petition is not legally maintainable. However, the ED argued that the agency is a statutory informant under Section 66(2) of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

Meanwhile, following the tabling of the state caste survey in the Karnataka Cabinet, which approved it, Deputy CM D K Shivakumar will on Tuesday seek the opinion of Congress legislators from his Vokkaliga community.

Karnataka’s two dominant communities – Vokkaliags and Lingayats – led by their seers or apex bodies have expressed reservations about the survey, calling it “unscientific”. They have alleged that many households were left out of the survey, and have demanded that it be rejected and a fresh survey be conducted.

“I have not yet studied it (caste census report) completely, I’m still studying it. I have called some of our legislators tomorrow, and we will discuss this. We will give suggestions ensuring that everyone’s dignity is protected and no one is hurt… I will seek opinions and then talk,” Shivakumar said Monday.

The report was placed before the Cabinet on April 11, and will be discussed at a special Cabinet meeting on April 17.

Delhi Assembly delegation to visit Odisha

A Delhi Assembly delegation led by Speaker Vijender Gupta will visit Odisha from starting on Tuesday to study the Odisha Assembly’s successful implementation of the National e-Vidhan Application (NeVA) project.

Gupta will be accompanied by Deputy Speaker Mohan Singh Bisht, senior Assembly officials, and other key personnel from the NeVA project. The delegation’s goal is to learn from Odisha’s experiences, focusing on the technological frameworks, best practices and operational models that contributed to the successful rollout of NeVA.

Announcing the Delhi Assembly’s move towards a paperless system during the Budget Session, Gupta committed to completing the transition within 100 days.

Meanwhile, with the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) set to hold elections for the posts of mayor and deputy mayor on April 25, the nomination window is scheduled to open on Tuesday.

– With PTI inputs