The much-anticipated appearance by Congress leader Rahul Gandhi at Kolar, the same location where a speech he gave in 2019 resulted in his current disqualification as an MP, is scheduled to take place today after several delays.
The rally was first scheduled for April 5, just a few days after Gandhi was disqualified from the Lok Sabha. Then it was postponed three times in total: from April 5 to 6, from April 9 to 10, and now to April 16 due to poll preparation and candidate selection process, among other reasons, Congress sources said.
The former AICC president, according to state Congress sources, will fly into Bengaluru on Sunday morning and then go to Kolar, where he will speak at a ‘Jai Bharat’ rally organised by the party.
Gandhi will dedicate the recently built ‘Indira Gandhi Bhavan’, an office and auditorium in Bengaluru with a capacity for 750 people, in the evening. It is located next to the Karnataka PCC headquarters.
Gandhi’s trip to the Karnataka state, which is slated to hold elections, is particularly noteworthy because the Congress party has yet to choose a candidate for the Kolar Assembly seat, where former Chief Minister Siddaramaiah had intended to run. He has already been nominated by the party in the Varuna seat.
AICC President Mallikarjun Kharge, General Secretary for Karnataka Randeep Singh Surjewala, KPCC Chairman D. K. Shivakumar, and legislative party chairman and former chief minister Siddaramaiah are among the key Congress officials expected to attend the events.
The Congress leader made the contentious “Modi surname” statement during the 2019 rally in reference to the wanted men Lalit Modi and Nirav Modi.