THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Congress is gearing up for Kerala assembly polls to be held in few months with ‘Mission 60’ being the catch line of its campaigning. The congress high command has issued a stern directive to the state leadership in this regard. Tariq Anwar, AICC general secretary in charge of Kerala informed the state leaders about the decision of the high command.

The congress alone wants to win 60 of the 70 seats required for a simple majority in the state assembly. The congress is of the belief that the League will win about 20 seats. The high command hope that the front will reach 90 with the other allied parties winning about 10 seats. The congress believe that by winning 60 seats, the congress will be able to maintain its infallibility in the front.

It was only after the local body elections, the congress high command realized that the situation in Kerala, a highly optimistic state, was not good for the party. Although state leaders have justified the defeat by saying local elections, personal relations and vote counts, Tariq Anwar and his team are not ready to believe it.

There will be a division of three--like seats the party is sure to win, 50:50 possibility seats and seats likely to win and so on. There will be special planning for what can be done to bring half the chances to victory and to create tough competition where the chances are extremely low. Tariq Anwar will arrive in Kerala at regular intervals. AICC secretaries Viswanathan, P V Mohan and Ivan D'Souza will continue their discussions at the constituency level in the state.

AICC representatives will seek opinion on changes from booth level till choosing candidates. With the appointment of senior leaders including Ashok Gehlot and G Parameswara to the state, it is certain that the high command will have a grip in the nomination process. Group based partition will no longer be there. Senior member Gehlot is brought in considering the senior leaders of Kerala. The high command intervention was based on widespread complaints on the groupism n the party.

The ‘A’ and ‘I’ groups are of great concern to the high command. It is almost certain that both groups will pull the strings to field candidates in the constituencies most likely to win. The central move has left group leaders deeply disturbed as the group with the largest number of MLAs has a decisive influence in the parliamentary party meeting to elect the chief minister. Meantime, KPCC president Mullappally Ramachandran and general secretary in charge of the organisation K C Venugopal are happy with the high command’s move.