Priyanka Gandhi lands in Assam; party accuses BJP of harboring 'corrupt old Congress leaders'

Congress leader Priyanka Gandhi is expected to arrive in Assam by tomorrow on a two-day visit. She is heading the screening committee, APCC president Gaurav Gogoi said on Wednesday.

AICC leader Priyanka Gandhi is expected to arrive in the state on Thursday. "She will sit with the screening committee before finalising the names of the candidates for the Assam assembly elections. The party has taken feedback from block-level functionaries about the candidates for the elections”.

He said that during Priyanka Gandhi's two-day stay in Assam, she will meet with different block and booth-level Congress workers. "She has expressed her desire to interact with the block-level party functionaries. So, she will also be open to meeting the party workers during her two-day stay in Assam.”


Gogoi said that the assembly elections this time will be between the old Congress and the new Congress."Who is the old BJP member remaining in the party now? In Assam, the BJP now has all the corrupt old Congress leaders. Those old Congress leaders in Assam who had joined the BJP just to save themselves from the law. So, it will be a contest between the old Congress leaders and the new Congress leaders this time.”

He also said that the parties which allied with the BJP were finished. "The Asom Gana Parishad (AGP) made an alliance with the BJP, and now the AGP is finished in Assam. In the next elections, we will not see AGP in Assam. United People’s Party Liberal (UPPL) and Bodoland Peoples' Front (BPF), allied with the BJP, are in doldrums." UPPL, which partnered with the BJP in running the Bodoland Territorial Council, last year was voted out of power. The BPF romped back to power in the last election and BJP is partnering with them. Earlier BJP has dumped BPF.

Reacting on former President Bhupen Kumar Borah's recent exit from Congress, Gogoi said, “We have seen the position of those who have left Congress and joined BJP, they are nowhere now. Even leaders like Sarbananda Sonowal vanished from the posters of BJP.

Borah tendered his resignation on Monday, and a delegation of senior Congress leaders tried to placate him. However, on Tuesday, along with the Assam chief minister, he announced that he will be joining the BJP on February 22.

Himanta Biswa Sarma called Borah as the last recognised Hindu leader in the Congress. Gaurav challenged Sarna to have a debate with him on Hinduism and called Sarma Md. Ali Jinnah of Assam.

Assam is going to the assembly elections in early March-April this year. Union Home Minister Amit Shah is likely to visit Assam on February 20 in different programmes.

AICC Assam in-charge Jitendra Singh said Priyanka Gandhi, along with three other members of the screening committee, namely Saptagiri Sankar Ulaka, Imran Masood, Dr. Sirivella Prasad, would arrive in Guwahati at around 10 am on Thursday. “For the first time, screening committee members are meeting every stakeholder and gathering feedback on ground realities. All three members are visiting almost every district, from Sadiya to Dhubri, for over 10 to 12 days. The feedback will be used to prepare for the upcoming elections."