A two-day brainstorming summit of the top leadership of the Congress in Kerala began in Sulthan Bathery, Wayanad, on Sunday.
The two-day conclave, known as the “Lakshya Leadership Summit,” organised with the primary objective of formulating an action plan and campaign blueprint for the upcoming 2026 State Assembly elections, was inaugurated by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary KC Venugopal.
Venugopal, in his inaugural address, claimed that the Congress-led UDF will come to power in the upcoming Assembly polls, winning more than 100 seats. He alleged that the unholy alliance between the BJP and the CPM in the local body elections will continue in the assembly elections too.
The AICC General Secretary said that no one is talking about a third Pinarayi Vijayan regime now. “Earlier, such a talk was there. It stopped when the people declared their unequivocal position.It would be better not to talk about it anymore,” KC Venugopal said. He said that the UDF’s victory in the local body polls has shattered the LDF’s hope of coming to power a third time.
Prominent Congress leaders, including AICC general secretary Deepa Dansmunshi, Leader of the Opposition VD. Satheesan, Ramesh Chennithala, K Sudhakaran, members of the core and political affairs committees, MPs, and MLAs are participating in the camp. Poll strategist Sunil Kanugolu is also participating in the conclave.
The discussions are being held in the camp on region basis –the southern, Central and northern.The discussions in the southern region are being held under the chairmanship of PC Vishnunath, while AP Anilkumar leads the central region. Discussions in the northern region are being held under the leadership of Shafi Parambil.
The camp is expected to formulate a strategy for the Assembly elections, building on the perceived success of previous camps that planned for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls and 2025 local body elections.
Party sources consider the venue “lucky” due to the positive electoral results that followed strategies devised at previous sessions held at the same location in 2023 and 2024.