Is Congress staring at a 2021 rerun in Punjab? Factional feud intensifies

A week ago, the Congress high command would have thought it had the factionalism in its Punjab unit under control. Facing a push from a section of leaders to replace the state party president, it had managed to strike a delicate balance. But on Wednesday, it appeared to be falling apart, and at the centre of this — like in a similar crisis five years ago — is former CM Charanjit Singh Channi.

In a snub to Channi who wants to be the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president going into the elections, and the group backing his claim, All India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday reiterated there would be no leadership change, saying such things were not a “gudda-guddi ka khel (child’s play)”.

Baghel, who held a series of meetings for the third straight day at the Congress headquarters in Chandigarh, ruled out replacing Amrinder Singh Raja Warring as the state Congress president. In a sharp riposte, the Channi camp said Baghel’s remarks were of no consequence as no leader of worth in the state had met him. They also accused the former Chhattisgarh CM of putting up a show for the high command by holding “inconsequential meetings and dinners”.

“When the high command has taken a decision, that has not changed. Koi gudda guddi ka khel hai kya ke baar baar nirnay badla jayega (Is this child’s play that the decision will be changed over and over again)?” said Baghel, flanked by Warring. He added that he would soon meet Channi.

“I spoke to him (Channi). The meeting will take place. (Sukhjinder Singh) Randhawa will also come and meet,” Baghel said, adding that he told the two leaders that if needed, he would visit them at their homes. “I have met other leaders too at their homes, and I can meet them too,” he said.

Channi camp unhappy

However, the remarks did not go down well with the pro-Channi group. “Charanjit Singh Channi himself is sitting at his home either in Kharar or in Morinda. He is not out of town or anything. Why does Baghel not go and meet him? Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa (Fatehgarh Churian MLA) is in town, Gurkirat Kotli (former minister) is in town. Why are they not being visited by Baghel? The fact is that senior leaders do not want to meet him. Partap Singh Bajwa (the Leader of the Opposition in the state) has now gone to Qadian after meeting him and did not attend the dinner at Rana K P Singh’s house. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa is also in Gurdaspur,” said a leader close to the Jalandhar MP.

Another leader claimed that Baghel and Warring were trying to portray that they had everything under control. “The fact is that 90% of former Congress ministers have not met Baghel in the three days that he has been here. He has not called a meeting of the sitting MLAs because he knows that the bulk of them will not attend. He is only meeting coordinators and assorted tier-three leadership because the top rung has given him short shrift,” he said.

The Channi faction said it would rather meet Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi once he returns from abroad. “What does Baghel know about Punjab or the leadership of Punjab Congress? Today, he could not even name all three working presidents of the party. He is the one who has pushed for Raja Warring’s retention as the PCC president and we do not want to waste time meeting him and giving him credence. In any case, all his focus is on Chhattisgarh and not Punjab,” said a leader.

Another leader said they were not keen on airing the differences in public as they do not want to precipitate a crisis while Gandhi is not in the country. “Let them issue show cause notices as they have done to former MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur and the state NSUI president. We dare them to take any action,” he said.

Baghel and Warring, however, kept making efforts at a reconciliation. Congress sources said Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla met Channi at his home on Wednesday to convey the “feelers” from Baghel. Aujla had attended the dinner at Rana K P Singh’s home on Tuesday evening. Before Aujla, former Amritsar MLA Raj Kumar Verka also visited Channi and held discussions with him.

Asked if he was willing to reach out to the leaders unhappy with his leadership of the state Congress, Warring said, “I have no problem even if I have to keep someone’s shoes on my head.”

Channi’s political graph

For the Congress leadership, the reluctance to make a major change in the months ahead of the 2027 elections is borne out of the disaster that ensued the last time it did something similar in Punjab.

Back in 2021, the high command removed Captain Amarinder Singh as the CM and replaced him with Channi, a Rahul Gandhi loyalist, months before the 2022 Assembly polls. This made Channi Punjab’s first CM from a Dalit community, but the decision backfired. The Congress went into the elections under Channi’s leadership and managed to win just 18 of the 117 seats, its worst-ever performance.

This, however, did not diminish his standing in the eyes of the high command. The clearest indication of its continuing confidence in Channi came during the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, when he was fielded from Jalandhar. He managed to win the seat in the politically significant Doaba region, outside his traditional turf, and boosted his statewide appeal. His popularity was on display during the local body polls earlier this year, when he managed to remain visible on the ground. His growing social media presence over the past few years was on display at this time.

After extensive consultations this time that saw the party consult 66 leaders from various levels, the high command decided to continue with Warring as the state Congress president. However, to keep the other power centres in the state unit happy, it elected them to crucial posts. The party sought to accommodate Channi and other senior leaders such as Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Amar Singh and AICC joint treasurer Vijay Inder Singla by appointing them as heads of key election-related committees. However, the fragile truce now appears to be under massive strain.