SILCHAR, Jan. 5 -- The Congress party has appointed party leader Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the chairperson of its screening committee for the upcoming Assam assembly elections, signalling the party's formal push to prepare for the polls due later this year. The decision was announced late Saturday night through a notification issued by All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal. According to the notification, screening committees have been constituted for five states and Union Territories scheduled to go to the polls in the first half of 2026. For Assam, Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, who is also an AICC general secretary and a Member of Parliament from Wayanad, will head the four-member screening panel. Lok Sabha MPs Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka and Imran Masood, along with Dr Sirivella Prasad, have been named as members of the committee. Apart from Assam, four-member screening committees have been formed for West Bengal, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Puducherry to finalise candidate lists for the forthcoming elections. AICC general secretaries in charge, Pradesh Congress Committee presidents, Congress Legislature Party leaders and AICC secretaries attached to the in-charges will serve as ex-officio members of the panels. Elections to the 126-member Assam Legislative assembly are expected to be held in March or April. The Congress is preparing to contest the polls as part of a broader opposition alliance....