Congress hopes for calm in Punjab unit but storm clouds remain ahead of 2027 Assembly election

The absence of a few senior leaders, including former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, from the Punjab Congress unit’s demonstration on Friday in Chandigarh against Chief Election Commissioner (CEC) Gyanesh Kumar has again raised questions about the party’s internal cohesion.

The July 1 revamp of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) had sparked turmoil in the Punjab unit. Amarinder Singh Raja Warring was retained as the PPCC chief, and Mr. Channi, the Lok Sabha member from Jalandhar and the Congress’s most prominent Dalit face in the State, was appointed to lead the election campaign committee in the run-up to the 2027 Assembly election. Mr. Channi and a few other leaders, including Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Rana Gurjit and Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, were believed to be upset with the revamp of the party unit. Their supporters demanded that Mr. Warring be replaced as PPCC president, exposing the factional fault lines within the State unit.

PPCC revamp

With the elections approaching and differences persisting, the central leadership of the Congress brought in Sachin Pilot to replace Bhupesh Baghel, a former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister, as the general secretary in charge of the poll-bound State. Soon after taking charge, Mr. Pilot asserted that nearly all the leaders in Punjab have assured him of working collectively and unitedly.

Amid the ongoing power tussle, particularly between Mr. Channi and the PPCC president, the senior leaders showed a rare sign of unity by participating in the demonstration on September 9 against the Punjab government in Chandigarh, led by Mr. Pilot, a former Rajasthan Deputy Chief Minister.

A party source said earlier this week that a meeting regarding the State unit took place at the residence of national president Mallikarjun Kharge, where senior party leader Rahul Gandhi and Mr. Pilot were present. Mr. Pilot reportedly submitted a detailed feedback report on the affairs of the Punjab unit to the party’s top leadership.

The source added, “The situation in the State unit at present is quiet, but it could be like a calm before the storm. The party high command had asked the new in-charge to take a broad view of the PPCC’s affairs and issues and share it. The feedback has been given. I am confident the issues such as changes at the top leadership of the State unit will be resolved by next week, after which a possible bus yatra led by Mr. Gandhi to kick off the party’s election campaign could be organised.”