Amid deepening factionalism in the Punjab Congress, the party high command is understood to be weighing a “Plan B” for the state after repeated attempts to bridge differences between rival camps have failed to produce the desired results. Despite conciliatory gestures by Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and AICC general secretary in charge Bhupesh Baghel, the dissidence led by former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi shows little sign of subsiding.
The latest flashpoint has come during the Congress’ ongoing statewide ‘Har Booth, Congress Mazboot’campaign, which was intended to strengthen the party’s grassroots organisation ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections but has instead laid bare the widening cracks within the state unit.
In a significant gesture aimed at cooling tempers, both Baghel and Warring recently joined party workers in raising slogans in support of Channi, signalling that the former chief minister remained an integral part of the organisation despite differences over the recent organisational reshuffle.
Warring also dismissed attempts to portray the pro-Channi sloganeering as a challenge to his leadership. “Does ‘Channi Zindabad’ mean ‘Pakistan Zindabad’?” he asked, accusing sections of the media of sensationalising routine expressions of support for a senior Congress leader.
In Bathinda on Monday, Warring sought to underline the importance of Channi’s new role as chairman of the campaign committee, pointing out that both Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and former Karnataka chief minister Siddaramaiah had headed their respective campaign committees before eventually becoming chief ministers. The message was seen as an attempt to reassure Channi’s supporters that the appointment was not a demotion.
Baghel, too, extended an olive branch while simultaneously cautioning party workers against what he described as “sleeper cells” of rival political parties operating within the Congress to weaken the organisation from the inside. Without naming anyone, he warned that those working against the party’s interests would not be spared.
However, the conciliatory tone appears to have made little impact.
In Muktsar, posters reading “Go Back Baghel” and “Rahul Gandhi, listen to the cry of Punjabis. Bring Channi, let’s form the Congress government” surfaced ahead of a Congress programme. Elsewhere, banners depicting Channi in RSS-style khaki shorts appeared, apparently aimed at portraying him as being close to the BJP and the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), highlighting the increasingly bitter nature of the factional battle.
Even as the official Congress machinery remains engaged in the booth-level mobilisation drive, the dissident camp has been holding parallel meetings. On Saturday, several senior leaders assembled at the residence of former minister Rana Gurjeet Singh. Though the meeting was officially convened to discuss the alleged “hijacking” of the municipal election mandate in Kapurthala, political observers viewed it as a show of strength by the anti-Warring camp, with almost all prominent dissident leaders in attendance.
Against this backdrop, Warring categorically ruled out resigning from the post of Punjab Congress president.
“I am not resigning,” he told reporters during the Bathinda programme. At the same time, he maintained that he would accept any decision taken by the party leadership. “If the high command decides to replace me, I will continue to work for the organisation,” he said.
Addressing party workers earlier in Fatehgarh Sahib, Warring delivered an emotional defence of his leadership and unwavering loyalty to the Congress.
“Rahul Gandhi can remove me as Punjab Congress president tomorrow morning. He may even deny me a ticket in the next election. But I was born under the Congress flag and will die wrapped in it,” he declared.
The current discord dates back to the Congress leadership’s decision to retain Warring as Punjab Congress president while appointing Channi as chairman of the campaign committee for the 2027 Assembly elections. Although both appointments were projected as complementary, Channi’s supporters have openly questioned the arrangement, demanding a larger role for the former chief minister.
Signs of factionalism have surfaced repeatedly in recent weeks. During Channi’s visit to Ferozepur, posters at a public function omitted photographs of Warring and Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa. At several Congress events, supporters interrupted Warring’s speeches with pro-Channi slogans, underlining the organisational challenge confronting the state leadership.
Baghel has publicly stood by Warring, crediting him with rebuilding the Punjab Congress after its devastating defeat in the 2022 Assembly elections, when the party’s tally crashed from 77 seats to just 18. Warring has also pointed to the Congress’ performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, in which it won seven of Punjab’s 13 parliamentary seats to emerge as the state’s largest party, as evidence that the organisation has regained political ground under his leadership.
Addressing workers in his hometown of Muktsar, Warring struck a deeply personal note, saying he had inherited a demoralised organisation and rebuilt it from the grassroots. “Akalis, BJP, AAP and even some of our own are after me,” he remarked. “My only mistake is that I was asked to take charge when the party had collapsed.”
Insisting that he harboured no chief ministerial ambitions, Warring reiterated that his commitment was solely to the party. “I would rather retire than leave the Congress,” he said, adding that Rahul Gandhi knew he would “never compromise with the BJP.”
While the Congress leadership has not officially acknowledged any move to change the state leadership, the continuing public display of factionalism has become an embarrassment for a party hoping to project itself as the principal challenger to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party in Punjab. With neither side showing signs of backing down, the high command may soon have to decide whether reconciliation remains possible—or whether a new political formula is needed to restore unity before the battle for the 2027 Assembly elections gathers momentum.
