The All India Congress Committee (AICC) on Saturday (January 3, 2026) has constituted a screening committee for the states where elections are to be held this year. These include Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu and West Bengal along with the Union Territory of Puducherry. Along with this, Congress has also given new responsibility to party general secretary and Wayanad MP Priyanka Gandhi Vadra. Congress Organization General Secretary KC Venugopal has issued information in this regard.

Responsibility of Assam handed over to Priyanka Gandhi Vadra

KC Venugopal has released official information by posting a post on social media platform X on Saturday (January 3, 2026). In which the screening committee of each state has been mentioned. The organization general secretary wrote in the post that Congress Party National President Mallikarjun Kharge has appointed party general secretary and Lok Sabha MP from Wayanad Priyanka Gandhi Vadra as the chairperson of the screening committee constituted for Assam with immediate effect.

Hon’ble Congress President has constituted the Screening Committees for the upcoming Assembly Elections in Kerala, Assam, Tamil Nadu & Puducherry, and West Bengal, as enclosed, with immediate effect. pic.twitter.com/k21nu2lHxm

— INC Sandesh (@INCSandesh) January 3, 2026

Apart from Priyanka Gandhi Vadra, Lok Sabha MP Saptagiri Shankar Ulaka, MP Imran Masood and Dr. Sirivella Prasad have been appointed as members in the four-member committee formed for Assam.

BK Hariprasad will lead West Bengal

At the same time, for the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge has formed a four-member screening committee under the leadership of Karnataka Legislative Council member BK Hariprasad. Along with this, Lok Sabha MP Dr. Mohammad Javed, Jharkhand MLA Mamta Devi and BP Singh have been appointed as members.

Former Rajya Sabha MP will lead the screening committee in Kerala

According to the notification issued by Congress Organization General Secretary KC Venugopal, party president Mallikarjun Kharge has appointed former Rajya Sabha MP Madhusudan Mistry as the head of the party’s screening committee for the Kerala elections. Along with whom Rajya Sabha MP from Karnataka Dr. Syed Naseer Hussain, Rajya Sabha MP Neeraj Dangi and Congress leader Abhishek Dutt have been appointed as members.

TS Singh Deo will lead the committee in Tamil Nadu and Puducherry

At the same time, the Congress high command has constituted a screening committee under the leadership of former Chhattisgarh cabinet minister TS Singh Deo for the assembly elections to be held in Tamil Nadu and Union Territory Puducherry. With whom former Maharashtra cabinet minister Yashomati Thakur, Rajya Sabha MP GC Chandrashekhar and Anil Kumar Yadav will be there as members.

Also read: Big blow to Mamata Banerjee before Bengal elections, TMC’s Rajya Sabha MP Mausam Noor returns home to Congress.

Before the assembly elections in West Bengal, Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Trinamool Congress (TMC) has suffered a major political setback. TMC Rajya Sabha MP Mausam Noor has again joined Congress on Saturday (January 3, 2026). This development has come to light at a time when election activities are intensifying in the state.

Mausam Noor’s return to Congress is being seen as a homecoming. It is noteworthy that TMC MP Mausam Noor was earlier a member of the Congress party and later she joined Trinamool Congress (TMC). She belongs to the influential Khan Chaudhary family of Malda. The answer to which is considered to have a significant impact on the politics of Bengal.

Mausam Noor will resign from Rajya Sabha

TMC MP Mausam Noor will also resign from the membership of Rajya Sabha next Monday (January 5, 2026). Anyway, his Rajya Sabha tenure is ending in April. Along with this, he is likely to contest from Malda in the upcoming assembly elections. 46-year-old Mausam Noor has previously been a Lok Sabha MP from Malda twice on Congress ticket from 2009 to 2019.

Mausam Noor assumes membership at Congress headquarters

Mausam formally joined the party at the Congress headquarters in Delhi. On this occasion, Congress leader Jairam Ramesh, AICC General Secretary Ghulam Ahmed Mir and State Congress President Subhankar Sarkar were present. Congress leaders called it an important step towards strengthening the party’s organization in West Bengal.

With the return of Mausam Noor, Congress may get new strength in Muslim dominated areas of Malda and North Bengal. At the same time, this is being considered a big loss for Trinamool Congress just before the elections.

How has been Mausam Noor’s political journey?

• Mausam Noor was the Congress Lok Sabha MP from Malda North in 2009 and 2014.
• In 2011, she became the President of West Bengal Youth Congress.
• On January 28, 2019, Mamata joined TMC in the presence of Banerjee and Suvendu Adhikari.
• In 2019, he contested the Lok Sabha elections on TMC ticket, but had to face defeat.
• In 2020, Trinamool Congress (TMC) sent Mausam Noor to Rajya Sabha.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah on Wednesday (December 31, 2025) targeted Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee regarding the upcoming assembly elections in West Bengal. He said that our aim is to form the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government in West Bengal in the 2026 assembly elections. Public anger against corruption, violence, appeasement and misgovernance of Trinamool Congress (TMC) in Bengal is the biggest sign of change of power.

He said that in Mamata government, all three ‘mother, soil, manush’ are unsafe. There is a lot of anger among the poor and youth against the corruption of Trinamool Congress (TMC), from recruitment processes to welfare schemes. He further said that West Bengal has been pushed back first by the Communist and then by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) governments, but the aim of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) is to create ‘Sonar Bangla’.

TMC is about to be wiped out in Bengal- Amit Shah

Addressing the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) workers’ conference in Kolkata, the capital of West Bengal, Union Home Minister Amit Shah said, ‘No matter how much havoc Mamata Didi wreaks on BJP workers, she is going to be wiped out in Bengal. Public relations by the workers will be the basis of the landslide victory of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) in West Bengal.

He said, ‘If the BJP government is formed in Bengal, no one can shake the BJP at the Center for the next 25 years. More than 300 BJP workers have sacrificed their lives in Bengal between 2016 and 2025, the time has come to make their sacrifice meaningful.

Union Home Minister spoke about infiltration in West Bengal

Union Home Minister Amit Shah has termed infiltration in West Bengal as a serious challenge. He said that infiltration in West Bengal is a serious challenge to the security of the entire country, which has been completely ignored by the Trinamool Congress (TMC) due to appeasement politics, but stopping the infiltrators is the top priority of the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP). He further said that infiltrators are a burden on the economy, security system and culture of West Bengal, who will be selectively removed as soon as the BJP government is formed.

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After meeting the delegation of Trinamool Congress (TMC), the Central Election Commission (ECI) has given many important instructions and strong messages regarding the election process in West Bengal. The Commission made it clear that any kind of obstruction or pressure will not be tolerated in the electoral system and strict action will be taken against those who play with law and order.

The Election Commission asked the Mamata Banerjee led state government of West Bengal to immediately release the increased honorarium approved by the Commission to all the booth level officers i.e. BLOs. The Commission stressed that the employees engaged in electoral work should get their rights on time, so that the voter list and other electoral processes can be conducted smoothly.

What did ECI say after meeting TMC delegation?

During the meeting with the TMC delegation, the Election Commission said that keeping in mind the convenience of voters, polling centers will also be set up in high-rise buildings, gated communities and slum areas. The Commission believes that this will ensure maximum voter participation and will help in increasing the voting percentage.

Election Commission’s stern warning to TMC

With this, the Election Commission issued a stern warning to the Trinamool Congress (TMC), saying, ‘The party should ensure that its grassroots political representatives or workers do not indulge in threatening or intimidating any employee deployed on election duty, be they BLO, ERO, AERO or observer.’ The Commission said in clear words, ‘Incident of intimidation against any election worker will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Strict action will be taken against any mischievous elements trying to take the law into their own hands.

TMC delegation led by Abhishek Banerjee met ECI

It is noteworthy that earlier, the Trinamool Congress (TMC) delegation led by Abhishek Banerjee had met the Election Commission and put forward many questions and objections regarding the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) process.

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Assembly elections are going to be held in West Bengal next year, for which BJP is busy preparing. Meanwhile, prominent West Bengal Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Choudhary met Prime Minister Narendra Modi in Delhi on Tuesday (30 December 2025). At present, Congress is busy finding its ground in West Bengal, while Adhir Ranjan Choudhary is also feeling isolated within the party.

What issues did the Congress leaders discuss after meeting the PM?

Senior Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Choudhary raised with him the issue of attacks on Bengali speaking people in Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) ruled states and the problems of the Matua community. Chaudhary, former president of the West Bengal Pradesh Congress Committee, urged the Prime Minister to intervene to help stop such attacks. He said that there is a possibility of communal tension and violence in the state.

After meeting PM Modi, Congress leader Adhir Ranjan Choudhary said that he raised the issue of Bengali laborers working in different states and also talked about the problems faced by the Matua community. When asked about the Prime Minister’s response, he said, ‘PM Modi assured that he is monitoring the situation and this should not happen.’

Is there any political reason for Congress leader meeting PM?

When asked about the political significance of this meeting, which is taking place a few months before the West Bengal Assembly elections, he said, ‘It has no political significance. I came to Delhi a few days ago. By chance I got a chance to meet him. Choudhary, who was the leader of Congress in the Lok Sabha, also submitted a letter to PM Modi, in which he claimed that in some parts of the country, Bengali speaking people are being treated like infiltrators.

The Congress leader said, ‘Their only crime is that they speak Bengali language, due to which the concerned administration often mistakes them for people from neighboring Bangladesh and treats them as infiltrators.’ He said that many parts of West Bengal have a majority Muslim population and the state shares its border with Bangladesh and due to such attacks in other parts of the country, communal tension is increasing among the communities in these areas.

Sources close to the Congress leader said that he raised the issue of alleged targeting of Bengali speaking people in BJP ruled states. The Congress leader urged the Prime Minister to sensitize all state governments against discrimination, violence and harassment of migrant laborers from other parts of the country.

The issue of killing of workers for speaking Bengali

Jewel Rana, a 30-year-old migrant laborer from Murshidabad district of West Bengal, was murdered after a dispute over beedis in Sambalpur, Odisha. In Mumbai too, two migrant laborers were arrested on suspicion of being illegal immigrants from Bangladesh. The West Bengal Migrant Welfare Board has said it has received 1,143 complaints related to harassment in 10 months, especially in BJP-ruled states.

Adhir Ranjan Choudhary had earlier accused both the ruling Trinamool Congress of West Bengal and the main opposition BJP of using the Matua community in West Bengal as a vote bank, while no one is providing any help to the community which is facing uncertainty over SIR.

The Matuas are a Dalit Hindu refugee community who migrated from Bangladesh decades ago due to religious persecution and have a sizeable population in North 24 Parganas, Nadia and parts of South 24 Parganas. The Congress leader had said, ‘A conspiracy is going on to remove the names of most of the Matua community members from the voter list.’

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee has given a big statement while addressing a meeting in Kolkata. He has talked about building the Gangasagar bridge himself. CM Banerjee laid the foundation stone of Durga Aangan in New Town on Monday. He said that the construction of Durga Aangan will generate employment. The economy will get a boost.

‘I love India, love all religions’

Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee said that many people have said that I am appeasing, but I am secular. I believe in all religions. I love Bengal. I love India. We love all castes and all religions. This is our ideology.

VIDEO | Kolkata: “The laying of the foundation stone for Durga Angan will be a ‘historic day’ for Bengal,” says Bengal CM Mamata Banerjee.

(Full video available on PTI Videos – https://t.co/n147TvrpG7, pic.twitter.com/bh2jXrMdaH

— Press Trust of India (@PTI_News) December 29, 2025

Told the Centre, but now I will build Gangasagar Bridge myself: Mamata

He said, ‘Every person has his own democratic rights. I was trying to get the central government to build a bridge in Gangasagar, but now I will get it built myself. I will lay its foundation on January 5. This bridge will be ready for the public in the next two years. We are going to lay the foundation stone of Mahakal temple in Siliguri in the second week of January.

‘I attend programs of all religions’

She said, I participate in programs of all religions. When I go to Gurudwara, no questions arise. If I go to Eid functions, some people have objections.

Laying the foundation stone of New Town Durga Aangan

West Bengal Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee laid the foundation stone of Durga Aangan in Kolkata’s New Town on Monday. This temple will be built on approximately 15 acres. Mamta government will release a fund of Rs 263 crore for this. This will be completed in the next two years. On the day of Martyrdom Day, Mamata Banerjee had announced to build a temple dedicated to Maa Durga.

Ghulam Nabi Azad alias Sohail, son of newly formed Janata Unnayan Party (JUP) president Humayun Kabir, had allegedly attacked the policeman in Murshidabad district of West Bengal. He was taken into custody on this charge on Sunday (28 December 2025). He had carried out this attack on a policeman posted at his residence in Murshidabad district. An officer gave this information. However, the officer said that Azad was released after 8 hours of his detention.

Trinamool Congress said Azad committed a cognizable offense by raising his hand on the policeman posted as personal security officer (PSO) of Bharatpur MLA Kabir. Police took action against Azad as per law. The party also claimed that it had nothing to do with the entire incident. A senior police officer said that constable Jumma Khan had lodged a complaint against Sohail at Shaktipur police station, on the basis of which he was detained. He said that Khan had alleged that the MLA’s son attacked him on Sunday morning when he had applied for leave for a few days.

Kabir formed a new party

The police officer had told PTI that on the basis of the complaint, the accused was taken into custody for questioning. Let us tell you that after being suspended from Trinamool Congress, Kabir has formed his new party. He came into limelight when he laid the foundation stone of Babri Masjid style mosque in Muslim-dominated Murshidabad. Kabir claimed that after laying the foundation stone, the police surrounded his residence in Shaktipur area. On the matter related to his son, he said that he was out of his residence for some work at the time of the alleged incident.

Humayun Kabir’s serious allegations against Trinamool Congress

On the matter, Kabir told reporters in Berhampur, ‘Today my son objected to the entry of a policeman in my house and this angered the law enforcers. They falsely accused my son of abuse. Kabir alleged that the police was targeting him at the behest of Trinamool Congress. The MLA said that the police force cannot siege the house of an elected public representative on the basis of a weak excuse. Kabir said, ‘I will gherao the Superintendent of Police office in Murshidabad on January 1 to protest against this politically motivated harassment. I seek clarification from senior police and administrative officials regarding today’s incident. They can’t scare me.

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Union Home Minister Amit Shah targeted Congress leader Rahul Gandhi over the defeat of the Congress party in the elections. He said that if a party opposes everything that people like, it will not get votes. He quipped that it was beyond his ability to explain this simple logic to Rahul Gandhi, as even Congress leaders had failed to explain it.

Addressing a public meeting in a village near Ahmedabad city on Sunday (December 28, 2025), Amit Shah said, ‘During the recent debate in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi asked me a strange question that why only his party loses in the elections every time? Instead of asking people, he asked me. Shah said, ‘Rahul Baba, if you understand these two initiatives started by me, you will get the answer.’

Congress will also lose in Tamil Nadu and Bengal elections- Shah

The senior BJP leader said that Rahul Gandhi should not get tired of defeat as Congress will definitely lose in the upcoming Tamil Nadu and West Bengal assembly elections. He claimed that BJP will be victorious in the 2029 Lok Sabha elections also under the leadership of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

Shah said, ‘The reason for our success is that people are connected to our principles. Congress had opposed Ram Mandir, surgical strikes on terrorists, removal of Article 370, Uniform Civil Code, Anti-Triple Talaq Act and our campaign to expel Bangladeshi infiltrators. Now tell me, if you oppose people’s choice, how will you get votes? But it is beyond my capacity to explain this simple logic to Rahul Baba, because even Congress leaders have failed to do so.

Union Minister handed over land ownership certificates to 173 people

During the program organized at Navi Vanzar in Ahmedabad, Shah handed over Sanads (land ownership certificates) to 173 residents. The beneficiaries were originally residents of Vanjar village located on the banks of the Sabarmati river, but were resettled to Navi Vanjar after they lost their houses, land and belongings in the devastating floods of 1973.

On the occasion, Shah also inaugurated the Western Trunk Line, a drainage network built to manage sewage generated by about 15 lakh residents living in newly developed areas like Shela, South Bopal, Shantipura and Thaltej. The Union Home Minister said that these 173 people were shifted to Navi Vanjar when the Congress was in power, but even after 50 years, they did not receive land ownership rights.

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Large scale elections are to be held across the country in the year 2026. Assembly elections will be held in important states like Kerala, Tamil Nadu, Assam and West Bengal. Apart from this, elections are also to be held on 75 seats of Rajya Sabha. The seats of the Upper House will become vacant in April, June and November 2026, which may see a change in the balance of power between the NDA and the India Bloc. In the upcoming elections, 5 Rajya Sabha seats from Bihar and 10 seats from Uttar Pradesh will be vacant. Apart from this, seats will also be vacant in Maharashtra, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal, Tamil Nadu and many north-eastern states.

Crisis on return of these big leaders
Senior leaders whose tenure is ending in 2026 include Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge, former Prime Minister HD Deve Gowda, Digvijay Singh, Sharad Pawar and Union ministers Hardeep Singh Puri, BL Verma, Ravneet Singh Bittu and George Kurien. The political future of these leaders is uncertain, as it remains to be seen whether they will return to Parliament or will be replaced by new faces.

5 seats of Bihar in Rajya Sabha will become vacant in April and 7 more seats of Maharashtra will become vacant in November 2026. Additional seats will also be vacant in Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, West Bengal and Tamil Nadu. This period is a concentrated phase of changes in the Upper House, which will affect several states simultaneously.

10 seats of UP will be vacant
10 seats in Uttar Pradesh are also going to become vacant by November 2026. The tenure of the members of Madhya Pradesh, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh, Meghalaya, Manipur, Mizoram, Uttarakhand, Himachal Pradesh, Rajasthan and Chhattisgarh will also end in the same period, due to which the scope of change will increase even further.

Currently NDA has 129 seats in Rajya Sabha, while the opposition has 78 seats. The 2026 elections may prove to be an important contest, which may change the balance of power in the Upper House and may also influence the party’s strategies in the future.

The tenure of these leaders will end in Bihar
5 Rajya Sabha seats will become vacant in Bihar on April 9 and elections are likely to be held by March. The leaders whose tenure is ending include RJD’s Prem Chand Gupta and Amarendra Dhari Singh, JDU’s Harivansh Narayan Singh and Union Minister Ramnath Thakur, besides Upendra Kushwaha of Rashtriya Lok Morcha.

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