Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra has been appointed chairperson of the screening committee for selecting candidates for the upcoming Assam assembly elections, according to a notification issued by the party.

All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (organisation) K. C. Venugopal on Saturday night announced the formation of screening committees for five states and Union territories scheduled to go to polls in the first half of this year.

The four-member committees have been formed for Assam, West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu, and Puducherry to finalise candidate lists for the forthcoming state elections.

Vadra, who is also an AICC general secretary and parliamentarian, will chair the Assam unit committee. The Congress is looking to contest the elections in an alliance with other opposition parties.

Her close aides Imran Masood and Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, both Lok Sabha MPs, along with Sirivella Prasad, have been named members of the Assam committee, the notification added.

The elections to the 126-member Assam Assembly are likely to be held in March-April this year.

Last month, Congress, CPI(M), Raijor Dal, Assam Jatiya Parishad (AJP), CPI, CPI(ML) Liberation, Jatiya Dal-Asom (JDA), and the Karbi Anglong-based All Party Hill Leaders Conference (APHLC) joined hands to fight the assembly elections on a common platform.

Currently, the ruling BJP has 64 MLAs in the 126-member Assam Assembly, while its allies AGP have nine, UPPL seven, and BPF three.

In the opposition camp, Congress has 26 MLAs, AIUDF 15, CPI(M) one, along with one Independent legislator.