BENGALURU: Will the ruling Congress spring a surprise on the BJP and JD(S) by advancing the assembly elections due in May 2018?The Congress has denied the possibility, but some leaders from the ruling party and the opposition think it cannot be ruled out. “We will complete our term and go to the polls,“ said KPCC working president Dinesh Gundu Rao Karnataka went to early elections in April 2004 — which coincided with the Lok Sabha elections — when SM Krishna was the chief minister. By advancing the assembly elections from October to April, Krishna paid a heavy price.Speculation is rife that assembly elections in Prime Minister Narendra Modi 's home state Gujarat are likely to be advanced to July or September. The term of the present government under chief minister Vijay Rupani is set to end in December, but a flurry of political activity in Gujarat is being seen as a sign of the BJP trying to bring forward the polls.In Karnataka, a section of the Congress leaders is spearheading a campaign to convince CM Siddaramaiah that early polls will help the party avoid the anti-incumbency sentiment. They think the move will help the party because of the disarray in the BJP and JD(S) factions.These leaders believe the BJP headed by Amit Shah would be busy with polls in Gujarat and Odisha, and would get time to regroup if the Congress waits until the scheduled time. It would work to our advantage if we are able to spring a surprise on them,“ a Congress leader said. The idea came up after the Congress defeated the BJP in Nanjangud and Gundlupet bypolls by handsome margins.“It's too early to take a call. A lot depends on the outcome of the assembly elections in Gujarat, political decisions taken over the next 3-4 months and how the monsoon turns out in Karnataka. If the BJP sweeps Gujarat, there is no point in going for early polls. If they don't, there is a possibility,“ said senior Congress member BL Shankar.Political analyst Prof Harish Ramaswamy said: “The bypoll results were a one-time contextual win.Hoping it would be replicated is a mistake. The Congress' organizational strength is yet to be tested. The BJP's loss cannot be read as the party's failure.The Congress must invest its time in organizing and preparing to fight the BJP's bigger strategy. They must wait and watch.“