Punjab Congress crisis: Dissident leaders camp in Delhi as Baghel holds meetings to steady ship

Even as the Congress’s Punjab affairs in-charge Bhupesh Baghel held a series of meetings in Chandigarh to steady the State unit, a faction of disgruntled Punjab leaders reportedly was camping in New Delhi to press for a meeting with the party’s central leadership.

With the internal strife intensifying within the Punjab Congress ahead of the Assembly polls, due in early 2027, Mr. Baghel, on Monday (July 6, 2026), began his five-day visit to iron out differences in the party’s State unit and lay the foundation for preparations of the elections.

On Tuesday, Mr. Baghel convened a meeting of the district Congress committee presidents and met senior party leaders, including Partap Singh Bajwa, Amar Singh, Vijay Inder Singla, Rana K.P. Singh, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, Hardial Kambhoj, Kuljeet Nagra, Brahm Mohindra, Balbir Sidhu, Shamsher Dullo, among others.

The overhaul of the Punjab Congress on July 1 had sparked an internal turmoil. While Amarinder Singh Raja Warring was retained as the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief, former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was appointed to lead the campaign committee ahead of the Assembly elections.

However, days after the revamp, in a show of strength, a meeting of several party leaders and workers was held at Mr. Channi’s Morinda residence and at another meeting in Mohali. Mr. Channi, who is currently a Lok Sabha MP, is upset with the revamp, according to party sources. The meetings were intended to convey his displeasure to the party high command as he had expected to either be made PPCC chief or made the party’s chief ministerial face.

With Mr. Baghel yet to meet the key leaders pushing for Mr. Channi to be reconsidered as State unit, Mr. Warring downplayed the crisis, asserting that Mr. Channi would meet the affairs in-charge within a day or two.

“Mr. Baghel had met with the heads of various committees on Monday, all except two. Mr. Channi, who chairs the party’s campaign committee and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who heads the core committee, would both be meeting Mr. Baghel soon. Mr. Channi had told Mr. Baghel he would be away for a day or two,” said Mr. Warring.

Last year, Mr. Channi called for a “greater Dalit representation” in the party, pointing out that Dalits were not getting due recognition, bringing the discord within the party into public view. He was the party’s chief ministerial face in 2022. However, the Congress suffered a sweeping defeat in the Assembly polls, raising questions surrounding the leadership skills of Mr. Channi, who lost both Assembly constituencies he contested.