Kochi: The Congress in Kerala seems to be too obsessed with the first three-digit figure these days. Out of power for 10 years in the state, the party is in no mood to settle for anything less than an emphatic win; hence the 100+ dream. Earlier, only Leader of the Opposition V D Satheesan used to mention the magic number. Others have taken the cue now.

Critics may call it a pipe dream, but the Congress leadership seems to believe they can do it. At least, that’s what they want the party followers and sympathisers to believe. State elections may be over a year away in 2026, but the leadership knows the morale booster needs to be injected as early as now. This urgency was evident in a party meet held in Kochi on Saturday.

At the Samarasangamam protest meet organised by the Ernakulam DCC, top Congress leaders wanted the 100+ target to look like an easy one. Addressing party workers from his district, Satheesan said that the Team UDF would work for the 2026 polls as effectively as it did during the Nilambur bypoll. He said the UF would win all the 14 seats in Ernakulam district.

The UDF holds nine of the 14 seats in the district now. Congress has eight while its ally is Kerala Congress (Jacob). Ernakulam is traditionally considered a Congress stronghold.

KPCC working president A P Anilkumar added 16 to Satheesan’s 14. The Wandoor MLA told the gathering that the UDF can win all 16 seats from his Malappuram district, the political fortress of Congress key ally IUML. The UDF had managed to win 13 seats from the district even in 2021, when the LDF retained power in the state by improving its overall tally.

It was KPCC working president P C Vishnunadh’s turn to do the easy math. “Like the opposition leader and the fellow working president said, we can win 30 seats from two districts. We can touch 100 if we win 70 seats from the remaining 12 districts,” Vishnunadh said.

He also drew a comparison between the present and the 2001 election, when the UDF won 100 seats. “The anti-incumbency sentiments in Kerala are much more severe than what was prevailing in 2001 against the then LDF government,” Vishnunadh added.

It requires only 71 of the total 140 seats for a party or an alliance to rule Kerala. If Satheesan and Anilkumar can keep their promises of full score, the UDF would need only 41 from the 12 districts to touch the simple majority.

While 41, if not 70, from 12 districts (with a total of 110) might sound like an easy task, the 2021 scoreboard should come as a letdown. Unlike the life-saving performances in Ernakulam or Malappuram, the picture paints a sorry state for the opposition front elsewhere in the state.

While the Congress has drawn a blank in Kozhikode, Idukki and Pathanamthitta districts in 2021, the party could win only one seat each in Palakkad, Thrissur, Alappuzha and Thiruvananthapuram. The UDF has only 41 against the LDF’s 99 in the current assembly.

The opposition front however has found hope in the assembly bypoll results in the current term. While it has retained three seats with improved margin, it could wrest Nilambur from the LDF and bring down the winning margin of LDF considerably in Chelakkara. The UDF sees it as a clear trend and hopes that it can win back Kerala if it projects a united face.

The Samarasangamam meet in Kochi was held as part of a series of events planned to energise the Congress rank and file ahead of the local body polls due later this year. Similar events have been organised in 12 districts so far.

KPCC president Sunny Joseph inaugurated the Kochi meet. He highlighted the price rise in his address and slammed the state and central governments for not reining in the inflation. DCC president Muhammed Shiyas chaired the meet.