Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, chairperson of the party’s Screening Committee and Member of Parliament from Wayanad, arrived in Guwahati on Wednesday for a two-day visit focused on stepping up the party’s preparations for the upcoming Assam Assembly elections.
Soon after landing at Lokpriya Gopinath Bordoloi International Airport at Borjhar, Priyanka Gandhi proceeded directly to the historic Kamakhya Temple, where she offered prayers. After the temple visit, she reached the Assam Pradesh Congress Committee (APCC) headquarters at Rajiv Bhawan, where she will preside over a series of important meetings related to the party’s candidate screening process.
Senior Congress leaders said Priyanka Gandhi is closely supervising what they termed an “unprecedented and systematic” screening exercise in Assam. According to party functionaries, this is the first time the Congress has adopted such an extensive, structured and consultative approach to candidate selection in the state, involving detailed feedback from grassroots workers and district-level leaders.
The meetings at Rajiv Bhawan are expected to focus on evaluating potential candidates, reviewing organisational preparedness and strengthening coordination between the state leadership and the All India Congress Committee (AICC). Party insiders said the emphasis is on ensuring winnable candidates and addressing local issues effectively ahead of the polls.
Assam Congress leaders also indicated that Priyanka Gandhi is likely to make several follow-up visits to the state in the coming months. These visits will be aimed at monitoring progress on the ground, assessing political feedback from different regions and maintaining close engagement between the central leadership and the state unit as the election campaign intensifies.
The Congress is keen to conclude the screening exercise at the earliest. Party sources suggested that, following consultations with the central leadership, the first list of Congress candidates for the Assembly elections could be announced by the end of February.
State Congress leaders claimed that the party is moving ahead of its rivals in terms of organisational preparedness and candidate identification, as the political battle for the Assam Assembly gathers momentum in the state.