Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been appointed chairperson of the screening committee responsible for selecting candidates for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections, scheduled in just three months. This marks the first time a member of the Gandhi family will directly oversee candidate selection in the northeastern state, a key battleground for Congress.
Alongside Priyanka Gandhi for Assam, other senior leaders have been named to lead screening committees for states going to polls in 2026: Madhusudan Mistry for Kerala, TS Singh Deo for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, and BK Hariprasad for West Bengal.
In Assam, the Congress is aiming to form alliances with other opposition parties to challenge the ruling BJP, which has been in power since 2016. Gaurav Gogoi, son of former Congress CM Tarun Gogoi and current Deputy Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha, is seen as the frontrunner from the party.
Priyanka Gandhi’s role is crucial, as she will finalize candidate lists and coordinate with smaller parties to strengthen Congress’s electoral prospects. Her team in Assam includes Lok Sabha MPs Imran Masood and Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, along with Sirivella Prasad.
Despite setbacks in the past, including a poor showing in Uttar Pradesh’s 2022 Assembly elections, Priyanka Gandhi has actively raised her political profile in recent months. She has led protests and parliamentary debates on issues ranging from voter roll revisions to labor laws, and has been vocal against the BJP in both public forums and Parliament.