New Delhi, Dec 9 (IANS): The Congress will kickstart its poll preparedness in West Bengal from December 17 when the party's state in-charge Jitin Prasada will travel to Kolkata to take stock of the situation in the poll-bound state.

During his visit, Prasada will meet all the state office-bearers and important party leaders.

"Our main objective is to strengthen the organisation ahead of the polls. Though Congress is a late entrant in the political arena of the state, the issue of alliance is not finalised yet by the party," Prasada said.

In Bengal, the Congress faces formidable challenge from the ruling Trinamool Congress and the BJP, which is fast emerging as a force to reckon with in the poll-bound state.

Sources in Bengal Congress said that Prasada may visit the Jorasanko Thakurbari in Kolkata, the ancestral home of the famed Tagore family. Prasada's grandmother Purnima Devi was the niece of Rabindranath Tagore.

The 294-member Bengal Assembly will go to the polls early next year. While the Trinamool Congress has the challenge to save its government, the Congress also has to retain its ground in the state. In 2016, the Congress fought in alliance with the Left parties and secured 44 seats to emerge as the second largest party. However, half of its MLAs have since joined the Trinamool.

The Congress is also up against an upbeat BJP which has made inroads in the state after winning 18 Lok Sabha seats in the 2019 general elections. The Congress is in a dilemma over whether to go with the Left or the Trinamool. Its state leaders have been talking to the Left leaders informally about a seat sharing agreement but nothing has been finalised yet, said sources.

The Congress leaders are insisting on finalising the alliance soon to start preparing for the elections.