New Delhi, Sep 6 (IANS) The Congress Monday welcomed the announcement of assembly elections in Bihar saying the party was geared up to face the polls.

Party spokesman Shakeel Ahmed said that various political parties had given suggestions regarding the schedule of assembly polls and the Election Commission, in its wisdom, had decided on a six-phased poll.

'We welcome the poll announcement. We are fully ready to face the polls,' Ahmed told IANS.

He said that party general secretary Rahul Gandhi's visit to the state last week had boosted the morale of workers.

'We broke off from Lalu Prasad (Rashtriya Janata Dal chief) in the 2009 Lok Sabha polls and have not joined hands with him. This has boosted the confidence of our traditional support base,' Ahmed said.

The Congress is fighting the assembly polls on its own.