Dharwad: The Congress has already started preparing ground for the Assembly polls slated to be held in 2018. With less than one year left for polls, hectic electioneering by big-wigs of Congress party is on the cards, stated Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee Working President Dinesh Gundu Rao.

Mr Rao who was in Dharwad to attend Shankaracharya Jayanti on Sunday, told media persons that a five-day consultation meeting with the District Congress Committee (DCC) presidents would be held from May 22 to 26. Chief Minister Siddaramaiah would be chairing the meeting. The meeting is aimed at internal assessment of the sitting MLAs, the poll plank for 2018 polls and to strengthen the party from booth-level.

The morale of the party is high after the win in the two by-polls election that concluded recently. The result has shut the mouth of the BJP leaders particularly State BJP chief B S Yeddyurappa, who has been making false allegations against some of the Congress leaders including the chief minister.

The Congress will go to the people keeping before them the development card achieved by the party in its last four years. More pro-people programmes too will be implemented after consultation with the party high command in a couple of month, said Mr Rao.

On alliance with JD(S), Mr Rao said, the Congress would be fighting the election on its own and there will be no pre-poll or post-poll alliance or understanding with the JD(S). Even in by-election, the Congress had not asked the JD(S) to refrain from contesting. However, as JD(S) did not field any candidate, it ensured a big margin win for the Congress.

On senior Congress leaders flaying at Siddaramaiah-government, Mr Rao said, neither the party nor the government has done injustice to the senior Congress leaders namely S M Krishna and H Vishwanath. Both the leaders have enjoyed all privileges and key posts in the party. 'S M Krishna's farewell to Congress has not caused any loss to the party nor has gained profit to the BJP', said Mr Rao.