BENGALURU: With the next assembly elections in mind, the Karnataka Congress is keen on setting up an academy to train its cadres and groom future leaders. KPCC President DK Shivakumar on Tuesday chaired the first meeting of a committee under the leadership of KPCC Working President Satish Jarkiholi, aimed at setting up the ‘Academy of Political Leadership and Governance’. The party hopes to introduce a one-year mandatory course at the proposed academy for its young workers, members of Indian Youth Congress and National Students’ Union of India who aspire to be office-bearers.
“The idea is to have a permanent institution where we can groom leadership at the booth and panchayat levels, teach our history and ideology. On the governance front, the academy will look at policy intervention, administrative machinery etc,” said a senior leader of the party.Sources in the party say the Congress hopes to set up four institutions in four revenue divisions in the State.
A building belonging to Seva Dal in Belagavi and an existing party property in Udupi have been identified as possible sites to run the academy, and a hunt is on for locations in Bengaluru and Kalaburagi. “The target is to get the academy up and running at least a year before the next assembly polls in Karnataka. We are considering mandating a one-year course for all wings of the Congress in the academy,” said a source who was present at the meeting.Another key suggestion made at Tuesday’s meeting was offering internships to students of politics, policy and research.