The Congress on Saturday announced screening committes as it initiated the candidate selection process for the upcoming assembly elections in various states. The party has appointed Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the chairperson of a panel that will shortlist potential candidates for the Assam assembly election.
This is the first time that the Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad has been assigned an organisational task since she stepped down from the role of AICC general secretary of Uttar Pradesh.
The party on Saturday also announced the screening committees for Kerala, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry.
While Priyanka Gandhi will head the screening committee for Assam, other members that are part of the panel include Lok Sabha MP Saptagiri Ulaka and Rajya Sabha MP Imran Masood.
Priyanka Gandhi to head the Screening Committee to select candidates for Assam assembly elections. pic.twitter.com/hdXwZHr3W3
— Arvind Gunasekar (@arvindgunasekar) January 3, 2026
The move is being seen as Congress’s intent to make a comeback in Assam, where the party lost power to the BJP in 2016 after a 15-year-uninterrupted rule since 2001.
Last year, the party revamped the State unit by appointing its deputy leader in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi as Assam Congress chief.
The screening panel in Kerala would be headed by Madhusudan Mistry, with Rajya Sabha MP Naseer Hussain, Neeraj Dangi and Abhishek Dutt being members of the panel.
“The General Secretaries/ In-charges, PCC Presidents, CLP Leaders, and AICC Secretaries attached to the General Secretaries/ In-charges shall be the ex-officio members of the Screening Committees of their respective states,” the press release read.
The committee for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry would be headed by T.S. Singh Deo, with Yashomati Thakur, Anil Kumar Yadav, and GC Chandrashekhar being the panel members.
The one on West Bengal would be headed by B.K. Hariprasad with Mohammad Jawed, BP Singh, and Mamta Devi also on the panel.
