Priyanka Gandhi Given Major Responsibility As Congress Sets Up Panels For Five State Polls

New Delhi: Congress has intensified preparations for the upcoming assembly elections and has formed screening committees for five states. The most important decision in this exercise was that Priyanka Gandhi has been given the command of the screening committee of Assam. This is being considered as a new and big responsibility of hers in the party organization. This is the first time that Priyanka Gandhi will head the screening committee in a state.

Who will lead from different states?

The job of the screening committee is to consider the names of potential candidates and prepare a list. After this, the Central Election Committee of the party takes the final decision on these names. Congress has assigned this responsibility to senior leaders for different states. Madhusudan Misri will head the screening committee in Kerala. Former Deputy Chief Minister of Chhattisgarh TS Singh Deo has been given this responsibility for Tamil Nadu and Puducherry, while in West Bengal, BK Hariprasad will head the screening committee.

What will be the responsibilities of Priyanka Gandhi?

Among these five states, Assam is the only state where direct competition with Congress is being considered with the Bharatiya Janata Party. MP Gaurav Gogoi is handling the election command of Congress in front of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma. In such a situation, the role of Priyanka Gandhi is considered very important here. Even though the responsibility of ticket distribution lies with the screening committee, it is clear that Priyanka Gandhi will be a central face for the party in the Assam elections. Along with this, her activism will also continue in Kerala, from where she is currently an MP. Before this, she had been in charge of the Uttar Pradesh Congress from 2019 to 2023.

Who is Imran Masood?

Imran Masood, Saptagiri Ulaka, and Srivela Prasad have been made members along with Priyanka Gandhi in the screening committee of Assam. Imran Masood is the same leader who recently gave a statement and started the discussion about Priyanka Gandhi being a possible face for the post of Prime Minister. In such a situation, his joining this committee is being considered politically special. Assam Congress has invited applications from ticket contenders till January 20. Out of 126 assembly seats in the state, Congress is planning to contest about 100, and its allies are planning to contest the remaining 26.

What are the advantages for the Congress? 

Madhusudan Misri, head of the screening committee in Kerala, along with Nasir Hussain, Neeraj Dangi, and Abhishek Dutt, have been made members. There has been a Left Front government in Kerala for the last ten years, and Congress is considering this as a big opportunity to return to power. The results of recent local body elections have also boosted the morale of Congress.

Yashomati Thakur, GC Chandrashekhar, and Anil Yadav have been included in the screening committee led by TS Singh Deo in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry. Here Congress is pressurizing its ally DMK to demand more seats. Last time Congress had contested 25 assembly seats in Tamil Nadu.

What's Next? 

Mohammad Javed, BP Singh, and Mamta Devi have been made members of the screening committee formed under the leadership of BK Hariprasad in West Bengal. In Bengal, Congress is considered out of the main contest, and the party is also considering the possibility of contesting the elections alone on all 294 seats.

Overall, Congress has given a clear indication that it does not want to show any laxity at the organizational level in the upcoming assembly elections, and the top leadership itself will play an active role in the process of ticket selection.