With Assembly elections emerging as a distinct possibility in the coming few months in Karnataka, the Congress has decided to bring the state party organisation into the battle mode, and it will include measures from AICC to set right regional and caste “imbalances” in the Pradesh Congress Committee.

Highly-placed AICC sources said that the party high command had started looking into all aspects of the state party unit to convert it into a “lean and mean fighting machine” to take on BJP and H D Deve Gowda’s JD (S).

“We are now going into the election mode, thereby, we are looking at things from this perspective,” the sources said, indicating that despite the desire expressed by some quarters in the state party unit to have a handshake with JD (S), the Congress high command was unwilling.

The high command, the sources said, was looking at regional and caste “imbalances” with reference to appointing Mallikarjuna Kharge as the PCC chief and Dharam Singh as the CLP leader who were from the same district of Gulbarga and that most of the state leaders at the national level of the party were from the coastal belt.

Also under the high command microscope is the fact that the party does not have a strong Vokkaliga leader at the state level after the appointment of S M Krishna as the Maharashtra Governor.

The sources refused to confirm or deny whether this meant the removal of Mr Kharge from the PCC chief’s post or the possible return of Mr Krishna to state politics — something the Maharashtra Governor is reportedly keen about.

“It is not about certain personalities, but about the fact that certain regions and castes are not adequately represented in the state unit. It is all about forming our election team,” the sources said, indicating that the high command would soon form a campaign committee too.

According to the sources, the party high command, after watching the evolving situation in JD (S), has decided against doing anything with the Deve Gowda-led party.

To the people

“We are just going to the people. We are not going to form a government now or break any party,” the sources said, indirectly referring to the reported overtures from a section of JD (S) to break ranks and join hands with Congress.

AICC general secretary Prithviraj Chavan, the sources said, was going to meet all sections of the state party leadership to “hear them out” so that the best-possible combination emerged in PCC.

The Congress, the sources said, would also take into account the unsatisfactory performance of the party in the recent panchayat elections while refurbishing the PCC.

The party would also study the growth of BJP in certain parts of the state apart from devising a strategy to break into the strongholds of JD (S), the sources said.