Rahul Gandhi's rally at Kolar, Karnataka, has been moved from April 10 to an undisclosed date for unclear reasons. The Karnataka Pradesh Congress said it will announce new dates for the event, which is planned to kick off a national Satyamev Jayate campaign headed by Rahul Gandhi, now a disqualified MP, who had hoped to start the march on April 10 from poll-bound Karnataka.
He was slated to arrive in the BJP-ruled state's main mining area tomorrow. April 5 was the early arrival date. Gandhi will now pay a visit to Kolar on April 16, according to media reports.
The Kolar event was announced immediately after Rahul Gandhi was convicted by a Surat court in a criminal defamation case. He was condemned to two years in prison and lost his Lok Sabha seat as a result.
It is worth noting that Rahul Gandhi was convicted for statements he made during the Congress' election campaign in Kolar in 2019, which culminated in his conviction on March 23 by a Gujarat municipal court.
Unless a higher court overturns his sentence, he will be prevented from voting for the next eight years.
The court found the Congress leader guilty of "intentional insult with intent to cause disturbance of the peace" under Section 504 of the Indian Penal Code (IPC). According to MLA Purnesh Modi's complaint, Rahul Gandhi's comments in Kolar humiliated the whole Modi community.
In Karnataka, Shivakumar and his party colleague Siddaramaiah are the two prominent faces of the party. There has been conjecture about a schism between the two about who would be the chief minister if Congress wins power, however both have denied any schism.
The Congress has already released its second candidate list. The BJP is gathering in Delhi today to choose its candidates; the Party is said to have picked three people from each Karnataka constituency, according to news agency PTI.
Several of the Congress's supporters and ticket aspirants protested when their names were not included in the second list of candidates.
Karnataka has 224 legislative seats. The vote begins on May 10, and the results will be announced on May 13.