On Thursday, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge announced the formation of screening committees to select candidates for the upcoming Assembly elections in Haryana, Maharashtra, Jharkhand, and Jammu and Kashmir. Ajay Maken will lead the Haryana committee, while Madhusudan Mistry heads the Maharashtra panel. Girish Chodankar is responsible for Jharkhand, and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa will lead the Jammu and Kashmir committee. Each committee includes other prominent Congress leaders, such as Manickam Tagore, Jignesh Mevani, and Poonam Paswan. This strategic move comes as Congress aims to capitalize on favorable public sentiment following recent Lok Sabha elections, as noted by party chairperson Sonia Gandhi. The elections in these states are anticipated to be crucial for the party's positioning in national politics.