Maken to visit Udaipur for Congress Shivir

AICC general secretary in charge of Rajasthan, Ajay Maken will visit Udaipur, the venue of the AICC introspection camp-Sankalp Chintan Shivir from May 13 to 15. Maken will arrive in Jaipur on May 4 and he would visit Udaipur to see the preparations for the AICC camp there. He is likely to be accompanied by Chief Minister Ashok Gehlot, Pradesh Congress President Govind Singh Dotasara, and some ministers. It is likely the AICC organizational secretary K C Venugopal, who is a Rajya Sabha member from Rajasthan would also visit Udaipur to see the preparation for the mega Chintan Sihivir.

It is learned that apart from the AICC working committee members, all the party’s general secretaries for various states, members of parliament, leaders of the Congress legislature parties of various states, and the Pradesh Congress presidents of various states are among the 400 participants expected to take part in the Shivir.

Though the selection of Taj Aravali, a five-star hotel has been made provisionally, a final decision on the venue would be taken on May 4 when Maken visits Udaipur.

Meanwhile, the Pradesh Congress has started gearing itself for the Udaipur event and several committees would be formed from among the members of the executive of the PCC to oversee the arrangement. The Pradesh Congress will form a reception committee and various committees to deal with issues like coordination, food, transport, accommodation, medical, and media.

The Lake City will be decked up for the occasion and roads are being repaired and the areas around the lakes are being cleaned by the municipal corporation.

Former deputy chief minister, Sachin Pilot who is the lone person from the state who was inducted into the committee formed by the Congress president Sonia Gandhi will also play a key role in organising the Udaipur Shivir.

Meanwhile, prior to the Congress Shivir, the Aam Aadmi Party and the Bhartiya Tribal Party (BTP) will jointly hold an Adivasi rally in Valia village in Bharuch district on May 1 and this rally will be addressed by the AAP supremo Aravind Kejariwal. Mahesh Vasava, the national coordinator of the Bhartiya Tribal Party, who is among the founders of the party met Kejriwal in Delhi along with senior BTP functionary Chhotubhai Vasava and decided to hold the tribal rally ahead of the Congress Shivir.

In the 2017 Gujarat Vidhan Sabha election, the BTP in an electoral adjustment with the Congress fielded several candidates and managed to win two seats. But later both Congress and the BTP parted ways. The BTP and the AAP are likely to go for an alliance for this year's December Gujarat Assembly election.

The BTP is trying to form a separate Adivasi state with 42 districts of Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and Rajasthan with a sizeable population of the tribals. The BTP is behind the demand for forming a separate Adivasi state. There are three BTP MLAs in Rajasthan. There are 35 ST seats in the state Assembly and there are three Lok Sabha seats reserved for the ST in Rajasthan. Udaipur, Lok sabha seat is reserved for the ST.