With an eye on early Lok Sabha polls, the senior leaders of the Karnataka Congress asked the party members to start preparing.

After a three-hour-long meeting in Bengaluru, Karnataka Pradesh Congress Committee (KPCC) President Dinesh Gundu Rao told reporters, “We have information that the Centre is advancing Lok Sabha polls and the elections will be held in December. A notification is likely to be issued in October.”

He also said that CWC member Siddaramaiah, Deputy CM G Parameshwara and All India Congress Committee General Secretary in-charge KC Venugopal will hold meetings from August 3 to review the election work across all 28 constituencies.

Dinesh Gundu Rao also said that the party would be reorganised before the Lok Sabha polls and that efficient workers would be appointed as heads of block-level and district-level committees.

According to reports, Siddaramaiah told the party workers to learn from the mistakes committed in the recent polls in Karnataka. He said that in spite of his party giving many pro-people programmes, the BJP had resorted to a campaign based on Hindutva.

“Let us start preparing for Lok Sabha polls from now as our only aim is to defeat BJP,” Siddaramaiah told party workers.

Dinesh Gundu Rao also said that going by the highest vote share in the recent Assembly polls in Karnataka, it is clear that people supported the Congress party. He also said that the party will expose BJP’s propaganda that was filled with lies and that the Congress party belongs to people from all religions.

He also added that although some workers might have apprehensions about the recent teaming-up with the JD(S), it was the party’s decision and that it was important for secular forces to stay united in the current situation.

In the state Legislative Assembly polls held in May, the Congress party won 79 seats and the BJP won 104 seats. The Congress then teamed up with the JD(S) which had 36 seats in its kitty, to form a government led by the JD(S) Chief HD Kumaraswamy.