The Congress party's internal turmoil in Punjab has intensified, posing a serious challenge for the party leadership ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. Instead of focusing on its campaign against the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), the grand old party’s Punjab unit appears to be grappling with a widening leadership divide.
The state unit is now visibly split into two camps—one backing former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, while the other continues to support Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring.
Bhupesh Baghel's damage-control talks fail to break deadlock
In an attempt to defuse the crisis, Punjab Congress in-charge Bhupesh Baghel held a meeting with disgruntled party leaders on Saturday. Despite efforts to persuade the rebel faction, the discussions failed to produce a breakthrough, with the dissenting leaders refusing to soften their stand.
Several senior leaders at the meeting reiterated their demand for Raja Warring's removal as the Punjab Congress chief. They also strongly pitched for Charanjit Singh Channi to be projected as the party's chief ministerial candidate for the assembly elections.
The meeting was attended by Channi and Congress MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, both of whom have emerged as key faces of the dissenting camp.
Rebels set two non-negotiable conditions
The nearly two-hour meeting in Chandigarh reportedly witnessed heated exchanges as the rebel group, comprising three Members of Parliament and nine MLAs, made it clear that they were unwilling to work under Raja Warring.
Speaking after the meeting, Randhawa said Punjab could not be led by a "compromised leader," underscoring the widening trust deficit within the state unit.
Warring hits back as high command faces tough call
Responding to Randhawa's remarks, Raja Warring said the former did not name him when he alleged the presence of ‘compromised leaders’ in Congress. He also accused many party leaders of meeting BJP and AAP leaders. He also said issues between him and Randhawa would be resolved soon.
Baghel to apprise high command
Bhupesh Baghel has assured both factions that candidate selection will be based solely on winnability and that no group will be sidelined. He is expected to brief the Congress high command on the developments, after which the party leadership will take the final call on resolving the Punjab unit's leadership crisis.
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