Baghel assures fair tickets as Channi camp presses leadership change before Assembly elections take place.
Factionalism within the Punjab Congress showed no signs of easing on Saturday, with senior party leader and MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa declaring that the party needed “a leader who can speak firmly, not a compromised leader”, even as AICC Punjab in-charge Bhupesh Baghel sought to reassure the rebel camp that every deserving and winnable leader would get justice.
Baghel made the remarks after a nearly two-hour meeting with former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and leaders aligned with him at the residence of senior Congress leader Rana Gurjeet Singh in Chandigarh. Among those who attended the meeting were former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, MLA Aruna Chaudhary, former MLA Razia Sultana, former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, former minister Pargat Singh, MLA Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, former MLA Ajit Inder Singh Mofar, former MLA Parminder Singh Pinky and several other leaders from the Channi camp.
The meeting came amid continuing discontent within the Punjab Congress over the party’s leadership ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. Channi’s camp has been demanding either a change in the state leadership or the declaration of Channi as the party’s chief ministerial face for the polls after the Congress high command decided to retain Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as the Punjab Congress president.
Addressing the media after the meeting, Baghel said he had spent the last five days meeting party leaders across Punjab and had listened to the concerns raised by all sections.
“I met and spoke with all our colleagues, and they shared their views with me. Everyone agrees that the party should abide by the decision of the high command, and there is no objection to that. Everyone stands united,” he said.
Baghel acknowledged that several leaders had raised concerns but assured them that their interests would be protected.
“I assured all of them that, as the General Secretary in-charge, I will safeguard everyone’s interests. If someone is a deserving and winnable candidate, they will certainly be given a ticket. No one should feel that they lack support. I will convey all the concerns raised by our colleagues to the party high command,” he said.
However, the assurances failed to conceal the differences within the state unit.
After the meeting, Randhawa said the rebel camp had presented its concerns before Baghel and stressed that the party required decisive leadership.
“We placed our views before him. Sometimes political parties have to revisit their decisions. We need a leader who can speak firmly. We do not want a compromised leader,” Randhawa told reporters.
Although the Congress high command had reportedly asked Channi to meet Baghel with only two or three senior leaders, nearly 80 leaders from the former chief minister’s camp gathered at the venue in what was widely seen as a show of strength.
Before entering the meeting, Channi hinted at a firm stand, saying, “We will discuss everything inside. We will see how things unfold. Our stand is clear.” However, he did not address the media after the meeting.
Sources said the Channi camp reiterated that if Warring was to continue as the state Congress president, the party should at least declare Channi as the chief ministerial face for the 2027 Assembly elections so that votes could be sought in his name.
Notably, Warring did not attend the meeting. He said there was no need for the state president to be present, as the AICC General Secretary in-charge was acting as a mediator.
“I am not going to the meeting. The General Secretary in-charge acts as a mediator. It is not necessary for the state president to be present everywhere. Congress is united, which is why these meetings are taking place,” Warring said.
Meanwhile, former Congress MLA Kulbir Singh Zira, a Warring supporter, posted a cryptic message on social media during the meeting, saying, “There may be many jackals and other animals in the jungle, but there is only one lion, and even alone, he rules the jungle,” in an apparent show of support for the Punjab Congress chief.
The meeting assumes significance as Baghel is expected to submit a detailed report on the political situation in Punjab to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, senior leader Rahul Gandhi and AICC General Secretary K.C. Venugopal after completing consultations with party leaders in the state.
Despite Baghel’s efforts to project unity, Saturday’s developments underlined that differences within the Punjab Congress remain unresolved ahead of the crucial 2027 Assembly elections.
