New Delhi: Congress today decided to plunge into election mode, with party chief Sonia Gandhi directing senior leaders to draw up time-bound programmes and strategies to re-energise the party in all states.

At a meeting of party general secretaries and incharges of states, Gandhi assigned tasks to them to organise the party "everywhere" at all levels for five assemblies and the next Lok Sabha elections.

"This meeting was about poll preparations. The Lok Sabha elections were also discussed, the party has to get ready for polls and everybody has been asked to draw up programmes and submit the same at the next meeting," AICC general secretary Janardan Dwivedi told reporters here.

Gandhi also reviewed the progress of programmes assigned to the senior leaders by the party for implementation. Interestingly, the issue of the Indo-US nuclear deal, which has taken the UPA-Left ties to the brink of a breakup, did not figure in the hour-long discussions Gandhi had with the top party functionaries.

"The issue has already been discussed at two working committee meetings," a senior leader said, indicating that no further discussion was required at the party level on the nuclear deal. Though the UPA constituents strongly favour the nuclear deal, they hold almost equally strident views against holding of early elections.

A section of the party leadership also feels that nuclear deal is not an issue to fight elections. The Congress president has given partymen a time-table for building the party at all levels, Veerappa Moily, Chairman of the AICC Media Cell said.
Source : PTI