Silchar: The Congress on Saturday night appointed senior party leader and Member of Parliament Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the chairperson of its screening committee for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, signalling the party’s intent to closely supervise candidate selection in a politically crucial state. The decision was announced through a notification issued by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (organisation) K. C. Venugopal.

According to the notification, the Congress has constituted screening committees not only for Assam but also for West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry—states and Union Territories scheduled to go to the polls in the first half of 2026. The move is part of the party’s broader organisational exercise to streamline candidate selection, ensure better coordination with state units, and strengthen its electoral preparedness ahead of a busy election calendar.

For Assam, Priyanka Gandhi, who also serves as an AICC general secretary, will head a four-member screening panel. The committee includes Lok Sabha MPs Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka and Imran Masood, along with senior party leader Sirivella Prasad as members. The panel will be responsible for scrutinising and shortlisting candidates for the 126-member Assam Legislative Assembly, elections to which are expected to be held in March and April.

The screening committees will function in coordination with the party’s organisational leadership in the respective states. As per the AICC’s framework, general secretaries in charge of the states, Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) presidents, Congress Legislature Party leaders, and AICC secretaries attached to the state in-charges will serve as ex-officio members of the committees. This structure is aimed at ensuring that both central leadership and state-level inputs are taken into account during the candidate selection process.

Priyanka Gandhi’s appointment is being seen as a significant political signal, particularly in Assam, where the Congress is attempting to regroup after successive electoral setbacks. Party leaders say her role will be crucial in balancing local aspirations, alliance dynamics, and winnability factors as the Congress seeks to mount a credible challenge to the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP)-led alliance.

The announcement comes amid ongoing discussions within the Assam Congress over seat-sharing and electoral strategy. Earlier this week, Assam Congress president Gaurav Gogoi indicated that the party may contest around 100 of the 126 assembly seats in the state. This statement, however, drew criticism from some leaders of allied parties, including Raijor Dal chief Akhil Gogoi, who expressed concerns about equitable seat distribution within the opposition alliance.

Last month, the Congress had announced a broad opposition alliance in Assam, bringing together CPI(M), Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad, CPI, CPI(ML) Liberation, Jatiya Dal-Asom, and the Karbi Anglong-based All Party Hill Leaders Conference. The coalition aims to fight the assembly elections on a common platform to consolidate anti-BJP votes. The formation of the screening committee is expected to play a key role in managing alliance considerations while finalising candidates.

At present, the BJP is the single largest party in the Assam Assembly with 64 MLAs. Its allies—the Asom Gana Parishad, United People’s Party Liberal, and Bodoland People’s Front—together hold 19 seats. In the opposition camp, the Congress has 26 MLAs, followed by the All India United Democratic Front (AIUDF) with 15 legislators. The CPI(M) has one MLA, while one seat is held by an Independent legislator.

Apart from Assam, the Congress also announced the composition of screening committees for other poll-bound states. In West Bengal, senior party leader B. K. Hariprasad has been appointed as the chairperson of the screening committee. The other members of the West Bengal panel include Dr. Mohammad Jawed, Mamta Devi, and B. P. Singh.

While details of the committees for Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry were also outlined in the notification, party sources said the overall objective remains the same across states: to ensure a transparent, disciplined, and strategically sound process for selecting candidates well ahead of the elections.

The formation of screening committees underscores the Congress leadership’s focus on organisational preparedness and internal coordination as it heads into a crucial phase of electoral battles in 2026. With senior leaders like Priyanka Gandhi directly overseeing the process in key states such as Assam, the party appears keen to project seriousness and cohesion as it attempts to revive its electoral fortunes in the region.