Rahul Gandhi at OBC Congress Meet

Rahul Gandhi used a Congress meeting in New Delhi on April 22 to sharpen the party’s pitch to Other Backward Classes, or OBCs, ahead of the next round of national political fights. (mid-day.com) The meeting was the National OBC Congress Advisory Council session at Indira Bhawan, the party headquarters. PTI reported that Gandhi attended with former chief ministers Bhupesh Baghel and Ashok Gehlot, Congress general secretary Sachin Pilot, and OBC Department chairperson Anil “JaiHind” Yadav. (mid-day.com) The immediate policy line from the meeting was specific: Congress leaders said the party would push more strongly for an OBC sub-quota within women’s reservation in legislatures. The Hindu reported that OBC leaders at the gathering also linked that demand to the rollout of caste census data. (thehindu.com) That position lands in the middle of two live national debates. One is the women’s reservation law passed in 2023, which PRS says reserves one-third of seats in the Lok Sabha and state assemblies but is tied to delimitation and implementation steps that come later. (prsindia.org) The other is caste enumeration. On April 30, 2025, the Cabinet Committee on Political Affairs approved caste enumeration in the upcoming Census, and Gandhi responded the same day by backing the move while demanding a timeline, funding, and a transparent design. (pmindia.gov.in) (thehindu.com) Congress has been building this OBC structure for months, not days. The Sunday Guardian reported in July 2025 that the party planned a 24-member OBC Advisory Council, with Anil Jaihind as convenor, to shape strategy on representation, jobs, and outreach to backward-class voters. (sundayguardianlive.com) Gandhi has also been making the issue personal. At an OBC gathering in Delhi on July 25, 2025, he said delaying a caste census during the United Progressive Alliance years was “my mistake” and said Congress-ruled states would carry out caste surveys. (telegraphindia.com) (newindianexpress.com) The electoral backdrop is straightforward: OBC voters remain central to national power. Frontline described caste as a driving force in the 2024 Lok Sabha election, while India Today’s Axis My India exit poll said the National Democratic Alliance still held a lead among OBC voters. (frontline.thehindu.com) (indiatoday.in) Gandhi now speaks from the post of Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, a role he took after the 2024 election. The April 22 meeting showed Congress trying to turn that parliamentary platform into a longer campaign on representation, quotas, and caste data. (thehindu.com) (socialnews.xyz)