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In the face of speculation surrounding the leadership shift, the AICC Backward Classes Advisory Council meeting which Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah is hosting here on Tuesday and Wednesday, is likely to boost his image as the OBC face of the party at the national level. Interestingly, Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, seemingly in a bid to align himself with OBCs, had recently stated that Vokkaligas and Lingayats are part of the OBC list in the Centre.

The session started on Tuesday at the KPCC headquarters and will continue at a private hotel till the second day. It will address the caste census against the backdrop of the Centre's announcement that the national census will be held, counting caste, since LoP in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi has been loud and clear about the caste census. A discussion on Article 164(1) of the Constitution, keeping in view Jharkhand, Odisha, Madhya Pradesh and Chhattisgarh, is also on the agenda.

The meeting under his leadership will surely give Siddaramaiah a morale boost. A string of OBC leaders from various states, CWC members and Pradesh Congress Committee presidents are participating as special invitees. They are Tamradhwaj Sahu, Jagdish Thakore, Manickam Tagore, Girish Chodankar, Manikrao Thakre, Yashomati Thakur, Keshav Mahto Kamlesh, Devendra Yadav, Gaurav Gogoi, Jitu Patwari, Capt Ajay Singh Yadav and Madhu Gaud Yashki, among many others.

 

Also read: Shivakumar backs CM, says no need to speak on leadership change

Dozens of OBC leaders from all over the country, such as former chief ministers Ashok Gehlot, Bhupesh Baghel, V Narayansamy and Dr M Veerappa Moily, senior leaders BK Hariprasad, Sachin Pilot and others are likely to participate. AICC OBC cell chief Dr Anil JaiHind is convener of Advisory Council and secretary is Jitendra Baghel.

The remaining council members, such as Kamleshwar Patel, Gurdeep Singh Sappal, Srikant Jena, Ajay Kumar Lallu, Mahesh Kumar Goud, Amit Chavda, Arun Yadav, Ponnam Prabhakar, V Hanumantha Rao, S Jothimani, Adoor Prakash, Vijay Namdevrao Wadettiwar, Dhanendra Sahu, Subhashini Yadav and Hina Kaware, are also likely to attend.