Priyanka Gandhi Vadra to head Congress screening committee for Assam polls

In a significant organisational move ahead of the Assam assembly elections, the Congress has entrusted Priyanka Gandhi Vadra with a key strategic role, appointing her chairperson of the party’s screening committee for candidate selection in the state.

The decision was announced late Saturday night by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal, who unveiled the screening committees for five states and Union territories set to go to the polls in the first half of the year. Four-member committees have been constituted for Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, tasked with finalising the party’s candidate lists for the upcoming elections.

AICC general secretary and Member of Parliament, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra will lead the Assam committee at a time when the Congress is preparing to enter the electoral fray as part of a broader opposition alliance. Lending support to her on the panel are her close aides — Lok Sabha MPs Imran Masood and Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka — along with Sirivella Prasad, the party said in its notification.

The high-stakes election to the 126-member Assam Assembly is expected to be held in March–April, and the Congress has already begun laying the groundwork for a united Opposition challenge. Last month, the party joined hands with CPI(M), Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI, CPI(ML) Liberation, Jatiya Dal-Asom (JDA) and the Karbi Anglong-based All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) to contest the polls from a common platform.

The political arithmetic in Assam remains finely balanced. The ruling BJP currently holds 64 seats in the Assembly, with its allies — the Asom Gana Parishad (AGP), United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and Bodoland People’s Front (BPF) — adding another 19 members to the treasury benches. On the opposition side, the Congress has 26 MLAs, the AIUDF 15, CPI(M) one, along with an Independent legislator.

With Priyanka Gandhi Vadra at the helm of the screening process, the Congress is signalling a focused and centralised approach to candidate selection in Assam, as it seeks to sharpen its electoral strategy and present a cohesive challenge in a state where alliances and arithmetic could prove decisive.

With PTI inputs