KPCC(I) chief to be elected on Oct. 31

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, MAY 24. The election of the president and executive of Karnataka Pradesh Congress(I) Committee will be held as scheduled on October 31 although certain formalities preceding conduct of organisational elections have been rescheduled in view of the elections to the zilla and taluk panchayats.

This was stated at a press conference here today by Mr. Ram Nivas Mirdha, Chairman of AICC(I) election authority. He announced the revised schedule of procedures following a request by the KPCC(I) to ensure that the elections to the zilla and taluk panchayats did not clash with organisational polls.

Under the revised schedule, the last date for enrolment of members has been extended to June 30 from May 31. A special feature of the enrolment drive this time is that freedom fighters can become members without enrolling 25 members. There will also be special drive to enrol academicians, professionals and executives who are not very much involved in party affairs.

Mr. Mirdha said the Congress(I) had amended the party constitution providing 33 per cent reservation for women and 20 per cent for SC, ST and other backward classes at all levels in the organisation. No other party had made such a provision, he said. The Congress(I) had also constituted a central election authority to make elections more transparent by introducing voting by ballot, he added.

He said the changes had been made at the initiative of the AICC(I) President, Ms. Sonia Gandhi, who believed that this was the only way to activise the party. Those who talk of a need for democracy in the Congress(I) had forgotten that these measures had been initiated in the party, he added.

Earlier, Mr. K.M.Nagaraj, KPCC(I) general secretary, said the decision to request the AICC(I) election authority to reschedule the preliminaries had been taken by the State party executive.

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Section  : Southern States
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