With election setbacks in several states, and Assembly polls approaching in many others, the Congress is once again grappling with internal rifts across multiple state units, raising questions over the decisions of the party’s top leadership, sources said.
Infighting has intensified in election-bound Punjab and Goa, where simmering rivalries have come to the fore. In Bihar, where the Congress suffered a crushing defeat in the 2025 Assembly elections, the party is also witnessing dissent within its senior leadership amid allegations that Assembly tickets were sold and complaints over the membership fee collected under the ongoing Sangathan Srijan organisational drive.
THE PUNJAB CHAPTER
The Congress’ recent organisational appointments, including the decision to retain Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as Punjab unit chief, have triggered fresh infighting, with former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi leading the opposition to the move.
Channi and several senior Punjab leaders skipped meetings with state in-charge Bhupesh Baghel for five consecutive days from Monday, keeping the central leadership on edge. Although the Channi camp had issued a one-week ultimatum last Saturday demanding a review of the decision, it eventually agreed to meet Baghel on Saturday.
The developments, barely seven months before the Assembly polls, have revived old factional battles that intensified after the local body election results. The Channi camp has used the poor performance in Warring’s strongholds to question his leadership.
Baghel, however, ruled out any change, saying the party was not playing “gudda gudia ka khel” (child’s play). Despite this, the dissident faction is expected to continue pressing for Warring’s replacement, arguing that it is essential for the party’s electoral prospects.
THE CURIOUS CASE OF BIHAR
A party insider said an important meeting was held in Patna on July 3, attended by state in-charge Krishna Allavaru, state unit chief Rajesh Ram, former CLP leader Shakeel Ahmed Khan, district presidents and other senior leaders.
According to the insider, the meeting descended into chaos after several leaders questioned ticket distribution in last year’s Assembly elections. The Congress had been allotted 61 seats under the alliance arrangement, but more than 10 witnessed friendly contests. Of the remaining 51 seats, leaders alleged that at least 24 tickets were sold.
The insider cited the example of the Bankipur Assembly seat, traditionally contested by the Congress but allotted to alliance partner RJD, which fielded Rekha Gupta. Gupta had first joined the Congress before switching to the RJD and becoming its candidate. In return, the Congress got the Kumhrar Assembly seat in Patna, where it had little electoral presence and suffered a heavy defeat.
Leaders also questioned the Sangathan Srijan membership process. Khan alleged that organisational posts were effectively being sold through the membership drive and questioned why membership fees were being routed to the Indian Youth Congress account instead of the All India Congress Committee’s account.
The insider claimed that aspiring state general secretaries are required to enrol 3,000 members paying Rs 50 each, while district president aspirants must enrol 2,000 members with the same joining fee.
After repeated questions from leaders, including Khan, Rajesh Ram reportedly asked who they were to question the process, triggering heated exchanges and the use of expletives.
Several Congress leaders, including Anand Madhab, former MLA Chhatrapati Yadav, Nagendra Paswan Vikal, Rajkumar Rajan and Wasi Akhtar, later issued a joint statement alleging that Bihar Congress was witnessing a flood of self-proclaimed and self-appointed office-bearers.
They claimed that almost anyone was declaring themselves vice president, general secretary or secretary of the Bihar Congress.
Speaking to The Sunday Guardian, Madhab said that under established party practice, appointments of state office-bearers are notified only by the AICC General Secretary (Organisation) after approval from the party president.
However, he alleged that Bihar Congress was functioning outside these norms. Social media, he said, was filled with people congratulating one another on appointments despite having neither official appointment letters nor authorised documents proving they had been appointed vice president, general secretary or secretary.
Madhab alleged this was a deliberate attempt to mislead dedicated Congress workers. He said genuine workers were becoming demoralised as such actions were damaging the party and accelerating its decline.
He further alleged that the objective behind these moves was to make Bihar Congress “Congress-free”.
“By this logic, anyone can even declare themselves working president or state president. If there is no official proof, anyone is free to claim any post,” he said, describing the trend as unhealthy and alleging that every move by the current Bihar Congress in-charge was backfiring.
“The present Bihar Congress has no political vision because it is being led by agents and brokers. In fact, Bihar Congress is on sale, just as it was during the Assembly elections.”
“Anyone, whether from another party or the corporate sector, can become a Congress office-bearer by paying a certain amount of money,” Madhab alleged.
Another party insider blamed the state leadership for the postponement of Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi’s Chhatron Ki Goonj programme in Patna, scheduled for July 15.
The insider alleged that the state leadership failed to make adequate preparations and could not even provide the central leadership with details of the venue or the expected number of students.
Another source said the venue kept changing—from Gandhi Sabhaghar to Gandhi Maidan—before a roadshow from Musallahpur in Patna was finally proposed.
THE GOA CONFUSION
A party source said the appointment of Girish Chodankar as Goa Congress chief, replacing Amit Patkar, has divided the state unit.
According to the insider, many leaders were unhappy because the appointment was made without wider consultation with party functionaries and workers. Patkar’s supporters were also upset.
Chodankar’s appointment triggered a wave of resignations, including those of general secretary Manisha Usgaonkar, social media chairman Divyakumar, state social media coordinator Shimla Siddiqui and several block-level office-bearers.
The source said Congress general secretary (Organisation) K.C. Venugopal’s recent visit to Panaji further worsened the situation.
Siddiqui, who resigned after Chodankar’s appointment, reportedly sought a separate meeting with Venugopal along with a delegation of leaders, but a heated argument followed. The source also claimed she later raised serious allegations before Rahul Gandhi.
Goa Congress Minority Department chairman Wasim Khan was suspended after creating a ruckus during Venugopal’s programme. Congress Minority Department chief Imran Pratapgarhi subsequently appointed Nazir A. Khan as his replacement.
Chodankar, considered close to Rahul Gandhi, had earlier resigned three times as Goa Congress chief after the party’s poor performance in the previous Assembly elections.
Many leaders believe Patkar had worked to rebuild the organisation after Chodankar failed to stem defections during his earlier tenure as state unit chief.
