Stopping Exodus, Finalising Allies: Priyanka Gandhi's Key Challenges In Assam

Shouldering the responsibility of the chairperson of the Screening Committee, which will pick candidates for the Assam Assembly elections, Congress General Secretary and MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra just wrapped up a two-day visit to the state, days after former state chief Bhupen Borah resigned from the party. 

Borah, who was with the Congress for 30 years, and served as the Assam unit chief from July 2021 to May 2025, quit the party on Friday. Sources said Borah had been uneasy since Gaurav Gogoi succeeded him, and felt the new party chief was giving Dhubri MP Rakibul Hussain more importance. 

Speaking to NDTV on Friday after meeting Union Home Minister Amit Shah, Borah, who is set to join the BJP on Sunday, said several other Congress leaders will also make the switch by March 8. 

For Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, the top priority now will be to stop this potential exodus and keep the party united as it heads into the elections. 

Other members of the screening committee include Karnataka Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, and MP Imran Masood and, during her visit, Gandhi met 21 Assam MLAs, three MPs, district presidents, and block heads.

Apart from picking the candidates, another key challenge for Gandhi and the Congress will be choosing the right allies to take on the BJP, which has already been in power for two consecutive terms and is seen as having an advantage ahead of the elections. In 2021, the BJP-led alliance won 75 of the state's 126 constituencies, while the Mahajot, with the Congress at the helm, managed only 50. 

Of these, 25 were contributed by the Congress and 16 by Badruddin Ajmal's AIUDF. This time, however, the party is not keen on tying up with the AIUDF, which is seen as having weakened in the state. Ajmal himself was defeated by the Congress' Rakibul Hussain by 10 lakh votes in Dhubri in the Lok Sabha elections. The Congress has also called the AIUDF the BJP's "B team". 

Besides smaller parties, the Congress is looking at forming an alliance with Sibsagar MLA Akhil Gogoi's Raijor Dal for this year's elections. 

Counterfoil

What will give the Congress some succour is the fact that while the margin of seats was huge in 2021, the NDA got 43.9% of the votes and the Mahajot's share was 42.3%. This means that the gap in terms of vote share was only 1.6%.

Also, while the aggressive style of Chief Minister Himanta Biswa Sarma, who is at the forefront of the BJP's campaign, will be a concern for the Congress, Gandhi may serve as an effective foil. Sarma is also likely to avoid direct attacks on the Wayanad MP.

Sources in the Congress said that, given the BJP's strong organisation in the state, Gandhi will be seen as having done a good job even if the party does not win the elections outright, but manages to improve its position significantly.