CHANDIGARH: After its losses in the Haryana and Delhi Assembly elections, the Punjab Congress organised a key strategy session in Delhi to plan for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. With the party’s new in-charge, former Chhattisgarh Chief Minister Bhupesh Baghel, at the helm, senior Congress leaders participated in a five-hour discussion, aiming to overhaul the party’s strategy for the upcoming electoral contest.
The meeting was attended by representatives from various wings, including youth, students, and women’s representatives. Following the deliberations, Baghel claimed that the Congress was now united and poised to reach the public directly. He reasserted that the party would be actively on the ground and by the side of the people in their struggles. Responding to rumours that several AAP leaders were in contact with Congress, Baghel said there was panic in AAP, with its leaders running around for political options.
“AAP’s ship is sinking, and I don’t know when it will completely submerge,” he said.
Baghel also spoke against allegations of political vendetta, saying there were raids conducted by government organisations whenever he ventured out. Citing earlier Enforcement Directorate (ED) and CBI operations, Baghel claimed to be unconcerned about such exercises. He countered news reports suggesting that he had prepared an internal assessment report for the Congress high command, with more strategy sessions in March and April to assign duties to various leaders.
The strategy session was a rare event where top Congress leaders, usually at loggerheads with one another, gathered under the same roof.
Among the attendees were MP and former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, former Deputy CM and MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, CLP leader Pratap Singh Bajwa, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Rana K.P. Singh, Aruna Chaudhary, Rana Gurjeet Singh, Dr Amar Singh, Shamsher Singh Dullo, Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, Mohammad Sadiq, Vijay Inder Singla, Sukhpal Singh Khaira, and a few other MPs, former MLAs, and ministers. The emphasis remained on resolving internal complaints and averting public exchanges of words among party leaders. During the meeting, Baghel also criticized the Punjab government for restricting the state budget session to only six days, questioning how important issues could be properly discussed in such a short time frame. He charged AAP with lacking trust in democratic processes and termed the decision totally unjustified. The party leadership of Congress feels that the results of the 2024 Lok Sabha elections have injected new life into the party in Punjab.
Although Congress was out of power in 2022, it won seven of the 13 parliamentary constituencies in 2024, while the incumbent AAP secured just three. The Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD) had one seat, two independents won, and the BJP failed to open its account, though it secured third position in vote share. In neighbouring Haryana, BJP and Congress secured five seats each, reflecting a close political contest. Nonetheless, factionalism remains a chronic problem in Punjab Congress. The issue resurfaced during the party’s “Judega Block, Jeetegi Congress” campaign when a grassroots worker openly questioned senior leaders about party splits. Reacting to the issue, state Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring admitted that factionalism had always been present in politics but warned that it had reduced the party’s Assembly seats from 58 to just 18 in the previous elections.
He asserted that Punjab Congress was one of the rarest state units where the party president and CLP leader did not have significant differences. The leadership shift in Punjab Congress also resulted from the Delhi Assembly election fiasco. Devender Yadav was made Punjab in-charge in January 2024, yet even after Congress’s reasonable performance in the Lok Sabha elections, he could not consolidate state leadership. His term saw prominent leaders, such as Navjot Singh Sidhu, moving away from party platforms. After Yadav lost the Delhi elections, he was succeeded by Baghel, who formally assumed office on February 24 by making offerings at the Golden Temple and other religious places in Amritsar, before meeting Punjab Congress leaders in Chandigarh.
The party also showed unusual cohesion when confronted with ED’s actions. When the agency raided Baghel’s house, Congress leaders openly criticised the action. Top leader Shamsher Singh Dullo issued a video condemning the crackdown, and when the ED attached properties owned by Sukhpal Singh Khaira in a case related to drugs, Congress leaders rallied behind him. Baghel even posted on social media that Punjab Congress was completely united and would set an example for other state units.
However, the choice of Congress to strategise in Delhi, rather than Punjab, was harshly criticised by AAP leader Neel Garg. He blamed Congress for conducting Punjab politics from Delhi while attacking AAP for the same.
“Congress leaders argue that AAP is being controlled from Delhi, but they hold their crucial meetings there. I call out Leader of Opposition Partap Bajwa and Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring—why isn’t Rahul Gandhi or any top leader visiting Punjab? Why is Bhupesh Baghel, who is not even a Punjabi, dictating the fate of Punjab Congress?” Garg asked.
Referring to Congress’s successive electoral defeats, Garg further stated that the party had repeatedly been rejected in Punjab’s panchayat, municipal, and by-elections.
“Congress has lost all public support. Rather than meeting the people, they are sheltering themselves in Delhi, spreading false propaganda,” he claimed.