Priyanka Gandhi Named Congress Screening Panel Chief For Assam

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been appointed the chairperson of the screening committee for the selection of candidates for the upcoming Assam assembly elections, a notification issued by the party said.

The creation of screening committees for the five states and Union territories that will hold elections in the first half of this year was announced on Saturday night by K.C. Venugopal, General Secretary (Organisation) of the All India Congress Committee (AICC).

To finalise candidate lists for the upcoming state elections, four-member committees were established for Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry, according to the statement.

Vadra, a legislator and general secretary of the AICC, has been appointed chair of the committee for the Congress unit in Assam, which intends to run in the polls in coalition with other opposition parties.

The announcement further stated that Sirivella Prasad and her close aides Imran Masood and Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, both Lok Sabha MPs, have been appointed to the Assam committee.

This year's elections for the 126-member Assam Assembly are probably going to take place in March or April.

Last month, Congress, CPI(M), Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI, CPI(ML) Liberation, Jatiya Dal-Asom (JDA) and Karbi Anglong-based All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) joined hands to fight the assembly elections from a common platform.

Presently, the ruling BJP's strength in the 126-member Assam Assembly is 64, while its allies AGP has nine MLAs, UPPL has seven, and BPF has three members.

In the opposition camp, the Congress strength is 26, AIUDF has 15 members, and CPI(M) has one MLA. There is an Independent legislator as well.