Guwahati: Congress leader and Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who leads the party’s candidate screening panel for Assam, is scheduled to visit Guwahati on Thursday for a two-day meeting with state leaders and committee members ahead of the Assembly elections.
Moving away from the usual centralised process, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has opted for a ground-level review of potential candidates in Assam, directing screening panel members to visit districts and gather feedback firsthand.
The panel comprises Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, Imran Masood and senior Congress leader Sirivella Prasad. They are expected to evaluate aspirants at the grassroots level and submit their recommendations before the party finalises its list for the Assembly polls.
Party sources said Vadra’s approach is experimental and may serve as a model for other states if successful. Traditionally, the screening committee meets the State Election Committee in Delhi, with local leaders invited to provide input.
Under this system, each panel member is assigned five districts to visit, engaging with local party workers, civil society members, and journalists. The findings from these discussions will inform the committee’s final recommendations.
A senior Congress leader noted that if the process works well, it could influence candidate selection strategies in future state elections. “Regardless of the outcome in Assam, this method could be applied in other upcoming polls,” the leader said.
The exercise is currently focused on Upper Assam, with other regions to be covered later. Districts were assigned based on demographics: Masood is handling areas with significant Muslim populations, Ulaka, a tribal leader, covers districts with large tribal communities, and Prasad is overseeing the remaining regions.
Masood’s districts include Dibrugarh, Dhemaji, Tinsukia, Biswanath, and Udalguri. Ulaka is responsible for Majuli, Jorhat, Golaghat, Karbi Anglong, and Nagaon. Prasad’s focus is on Charaideo, Sivasagar, Lakhimpur, Sonitpur, and Darrang.
Masood, MP from Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh, said the team is meeting a wide range of stakeholders in each district, including local party members and aspirants, and will submit a comprehensive report to Vadra soon.