Amid a raging leadership tussle in the Punjab Congress, the All India Congress Committee (AICC)’s general secretary in charge of the state, Bhupesh Baghel, on Saturday held a meeting with a slew of party leaders, including several affiliated to Jalandhar MP and ex-chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, in a bid to defuse the crisis, but the impasse continues.
The meeting turned into a show of strength by state Congress leaders seeking the ouster of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC)’s president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring in the run-up to the Punjab Assembly elections slated for February 2027. Many of them made it clear to Baghel that they would not accept Warring’s leadership, sources said. Warring was not present at the meeting.
The weeklong visit of Baghel to Chandigarh to resolve deepening differences between the Channi and Warring camps culminated in the 80-minute Saturday meeting at Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjit Singh’s house, which was attended by over 80 party leaders, including sitting and ex-MLAs, ex-ministers, and many candidates who contested the 2022 Assembly polls.
According to several leaders who attended the meeting, Channi asked all of them to raise their hands if they wanted Raja Warring to be removed as the PPCC president, claiming that they “complied with it”.
Besides Channi and Rana Gurjit, state Congress leaders who spoke during the meeting included Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa, Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, former Deputy CM OP Soni, Jalandhar MLA Pargat Singh, Gurdaspur MLA Barindermeet Singh Pahra, Dinanagar MLA Aruna Chaudhary, former MLAs Gurkirat Singh Kotli and Sangat Singh Gilzian, ex-MP Mohd Sadiq, and slain Punjabi singer Sidhu Moosewala’s father Balkaur Singh Sidhu. Former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu reportedly declined to speak at the huddle.
Channi’s attack
Addressing the gathering in Baghel’s presence, Channi alleged that Warring was doing his “character assassination” by spreading rumours that he was in touch with the BJP, sources said. “I have cases against me by the BJP-led Centre as well as the AAP-led Punjab government, and I am not afraid of them,” he said, claiming he had never sought any post and that he had only demanded Warring’s replacement as the PPCC chief.
Gurdaspur MLA Barindermeet Singh Pahra said he would not contest the Assembly polls in case Warring continues in his position.
According to sources, Balkaur Singh Sidhu alleged that Warring was “promoting” his rivals in his Mansa belt. He said he was not interested in fighting elections but he did not want the Congress to lose there.
Baghel’s stance
Speaking to reporters later, former Chhattisgarh CM Baghel sought to downplay the meeting. “Rana Gurjit invited us. He is a senior leader… I spoke and met with all party colleagues. They shared their views, and no one has any objection to the party high command’s decision. Everyone stands with the high command. My colleagues raised certain points, and I assured them all that I would look after everyone’s interests,” he said.
“No one should feel disadvantaged just because they lack the backing of a major leader. If a candidate is capable of winning, they will certainly get the ticket… The colleagues raised certain issues, which I will convey to the high command… No one is upset,” Baghel claimed.
When asked about the pitch for replacing Warring, he denied that any such demand was made. “There were no such talks,” he claimed.
Widening rifts
Subsequently, however, Randhawa and Channi appeared before reporters, where Randhawa called for a leadership change in the state party unit.
“We had a productive dialogue where we expressed Congress workers’ apprehensions. We also put forth that sometimes the party must reverse certain decisions. Our demand to the leadership is clear. We want a Congress government in Punjab, and we want to address issues like the law and order situation and corruption. To achieve this, we need unity within the party, but we also need leaders who speak boldly and decisively. We do not need compromised leaders,” said Randhawa.
Soon after Baghel left the meeting venue, he was joined by Warring who drove him in his car to the airport for his Delhi flight.
When asked by reporters about Randhawa’s comments, Baghel said, “I have clarified it earlier too that this was not a meeting. Gurjeet Rana called me, so I went to meet him.When you stay like family, there are many talks that happen, which are not disclosed publicly.”
The AICC leader also said, “Yes, I agree that any leader who is compromised will not work. If any leader is compromised by BJP, it will not work. It is my responsibility not to let this happen.”
On the reported demand to project Channi as the party’s CM face in the upcoming polls, Baghel said, “This is false. No such talks happened. We only want Congress to form the government.”
Commenting on Randhawa’s “compromised leader” barb, Warring said, “Has he taken any names? If he hasn’t even taken my name, why are fingers being pointed at me regarding his statement about a ‘compromised’ leader? I stayed with Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa for 4.5 to 5 years. If either of us had been compromised, we would not have remained together for such a long time. There should be no compromised leader in the party. The problem between us will only last for a couple of days.”
The crisis gripping the Punjab Congress flared up on July 1 when the AICC leadership, in a balancing act, announced that Warring would continue as the PPCC president, even as it appointed Channi as the chairperson of the party poll campaign committee.
The AICC’s move upset Channi, who was hoping to replace Warring as the PPCC chief. On July 3, he held a meeting of several party leaders at his Morinda residence, who backed his demand.
Amid the snowballing row, Baghel on July 8 ruled out a change in the state Congress leadership, saying it was not a “gudda-guddi ka khel (child’s play)”.
