It is the beauty of the sandy desert state that despite the scarcity of water, electricity, and other resources, political consultations and future plans of the parties have been made here. The Congress session going to be held in the Lake City of Udaipur will be the fifth session in Rajasthan when Congress is organizing a Navsankalp Adhiveshan from May 13-15 to revive itself and strengthen the organization after nine years.
To save the party from further disintegration and internal dissension, about 500 Congress leaders will be contemplated in five-star hotels and six key resolutions will be passed, including those warning the Modi government at the Center against inflation and unemployment, plans to contest the state assembly elections in 2022-23 and the Lok Sabha in 2024. There is also a plan to make a strong election strategy.
After Independence, Pink City of Jaipur hosted the Indian National Congress’ two Sessions in 1948 and 1966, a Chintan Shivir in 2013, and Congress’ 14 Chief Ministers Review meeting at Mount Abu in 2002.
Congress’ first National Session was held in Jaipur’s Gandhi Nagar, a sand dune area without any habitation where the tents were erected for a one-day meeting on December 18, 1948, and congress persons had sat on ‘dariyan’ to decide the future plans of the party, recalls Mumtaz Masiah, a senior state PCC Executive and Chairman of NGO Area Development Centre, here.
Bhogaraju Pattabhi Sitaramaya was the AICC President who chaired the session along with late Pandit Jawahar Lal Nehru, the then prime minister, and other senior leaders, Masiah told SNS when contacted.
Again to formulate the political strategy in the country, INC held its session from July 16-18, 1966 in Jaipur, when Kumaraswami Kamraj was the party president.
Having 14 Chief Ministers in the country in 2002, Congress President Sonia Gandhi had called them to Rajasthan’s sole hill station Mount Abu from November 8-9 to review their performance and prepare their report card. Though the party also made organisational and political plans.
Nine years before in 2013, Congress chaired by Mrs. Sonia Gandhi as the President addressed the Chintan Shivir from January 18-19 when Rahul Gandhi was crowned as Vice President of the party but he was not declared as the PM candidate for the Lok Sabha elections due next year in 2014.
Udaipur gears up for the fifth meeting as christened NavSankalp Shivir as AICC General Secretary and Incharge of Rajasthan Ajay Makan, PCC President Govind Singh Dotasara, Pukhraj Prashar, Chairman of Abhav Ayog, and a team of government’s protocol officers and senior cops have taken over the hotel sites to provide foolproof security and better management. A new helipad in a 60,000 square feet garden area was set up for VVIPs landing near the venue, and a chopper landing trial was also done.
Besides the party’s organisational issues, the Congress has chosen the Mewar region (Udaipur division) to lure and keep its vote banks of tribal community intact in view of the Gujarat assembly election due later this year in November. Udaipur division’s Dungarpur, Banswara, Salumber, and Pratapgarh districts have a very close affinity with Gujarat’s neighbouring districts, hence the Congress has a foresighted poll plan.
Former Deputy CM and Ex-PCC President Sachin Pilot who is giving a tough time to third time CM Ashok Gehlot is the sole member from Rajasthan who will represent an Economic Affair Committee and formulate a resolution. There are five other committees comprising 54 members who will project resolutions and working plans on Politics, Social Justice, Farmer, Youth, and Organisational issues.
It is a million-dollar question whether Rahul Gandhi would be crowned as AICC President in three days of deliberations. However, the Interim Congress President may decide to reshuffle some of the faces in the Congress-ruled two northern states of Rajasthan, where Ashok Gehlot has enormous public support and ruling the state for the third time, and Chattisgarh where Bhupesh Baghel had some dissension in the party and the government. Party might have to find access for Sachin Pilot who has reportedly assured a half-term (2 years and six months) CMship in Rajasthan when the party came in power in 2018.