Guwahati, Feb 19: Assam Congress leaders on February 19 projected the upcoming two-day visit of Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as a significant organisational push ahead of the Assembly elections, with APCC Working President Jakir Hussain Sikdar launching a sharp attack on the BJP-led state government.
Sikdar said the party expected to gain substantially from the visit and claimed that public dissatisfaction with the government led by Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma was increasing. Alleging widespread corruption, he stated that people across Assam were unhappy with the current administration and asserted that the BJP would not return to power.
Describing the visit as a morale booster for party workers, Sikdar said Congress leaders and cadres were eagerly awaiting Gandhi’s arrival. He maintained that her presence would energise the organisation and strengthen workers across the state.
Priyanka Gandhi, who serves as Chairperson of the party’s Screening Committee and is MP from Wayanad, is scheduled to begin her visit with prayers at Maa Kamakhya Temple before proceeding to Rajiv Bhawan for screening-related meetings that will continue from 11 am until late at night.
Senior Congress leader Jitendra Singh said the Screening Committee would hold interactions with Block Congress leaders, frontal organisations and party workers throughout the day. He described the exercise as the first structured screening mechanism introduced in Assam for candidate selection and indicated that Gandhi would return multiple times before the elections to assess public sentiment.
Deputy Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Gaurav Gogoi said efforts were underway to expedite the screening process. He stated that, following consultations with the central leadership, the first phase of the Congress candidates’ list was likely to be released by the end of February, adding that the leadership was prepared to finalise names once the state-level process was completed.
Gogoi also signalled that alliances with like-minded opposition parties were certain. He claimed that parties aligning with the Indian National Congress tended to grow stronger, while those aligning with the Bharatiya Janata Party weakened, citing the examples of the Asom Gana Parishad and the United People’s Party Liberal.
