Thaw in Punjab Congress chill as Channi camp agrees to meet Baghel, keeps heat on Warring

Days after the All India Congress Committee (AICC)’s general secretary in charge of Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel, ruled out a change in the state Congress leadership announced recently by the party high command, saying it was not a “gudda-guddi ka khel (child’s play)”, senior party leaders from the

Charanjit Singh Channi camp will meet Baghel on Saturday at the residence of party MLA Rana Gurjit Singh.

The Channi camp’s move signalled a thaw as it has been avoiding meeting Baghel who has been camping in Chandigarh since Monday to deal with the latest bout of factionalism and infighting besetting the state Congress.

Confirming about their participation in the Saturday meeting, the Channi group, however, emphasised that Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring would not be a part of this huddle.

“We intend to inform Baghel that he has done much wrong to the party in Punjab by pushing for Warring’s continuance as the PPCC president and will list evidence before him in this regard,” said a senior state Congress leader.

On July 1, in a balancing act, the AICC leadership announced its decision to retain Warring in his post, which upset Channi, the Jalandhar MP and ex-CM, who was looking to replace him as the PPCC chief himself. Instead, Channi has been named the Congress’s campaign committee chief for the state Assembly polls slated for February 2027.

Channi camp’s play

At the Saturday meeting, besides Channi and Rana Gurjit, Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Leader of the Opposition (LoP) Partap Singh Bajwa, Fatehgarh Churian MLA Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, Gurdaspur MLA Barindermeet Singh Pahra, Jalandhar MLA Pargat Singh and former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu are likely to be in attendance.

Channi’s supporters have dismissed Baghel’s contention that the Ajay Maken-led AICC committee had not made any recommendation in favour of Channi as the PCC president. “Despite the fact that a majority of people who appeared before the committee pushed for Channi to be made the state president, it was Baghel who intervened on Warring’s behalf and ensured that no change took place. Why he did so remains a mystery and we want to ask him about it,” a party leader said.

The Channi camp says it had raised various concerns against Warring’s leadership before the AICC leaders, warning them of the “damage” his continuance may have on the party’s poll prospects. “Warring has failed to adopt a sufficiently adversarial stance against the ruling AAP and the BJP. He is known to be soft on AAP. He has never spoken out strongly on law and order issues. He never reacts strongly when killings, extortion and dacoities take place in the state. Now when there is a demand for his removal and Baghel in town, he has suddenly woken up about the Moga police station blast and is demanding the DGP’s resignation,” a pro-Channi leader alleged.

A Channi camp insider said Warring allegedly antagonised the Scheduled Caste (SC) community by “mocking” former Union home minister late Buta Singh.

The Channi faction also took potshots at Baghel over the meetings he has held since his arrival in Chandigarh. “Baghel has been meeting the same leaders who have always been in Warring camp. He is just creating an image of doing something so that he can show it to the Congress high command. No wonder he is now forced to extend his stay to eight days since there was no progress in forging party unity due to his brash remarks,” alleged another leader.

Baghel has held a series of interactions with several state Congress office-bearers and leaders in a bid to step up the party’s preparations for the 2027 elections.

The Channi camp also alleged that the current row over Warring’s leadership has caused a setback to the party’s poll plans. “Not one meeting of any of the new committees announced by the AICC have taken place since Baghel’s arrival,” it said.

Warring stance

On his part, Warring said that Baghel has told him about the Saturday meeting. When asked about the Channi camp’s reported insistence that he should not be a part of the meeting, the PPCC chief told media persons: “I don’t know about this condition. But what I know is that Baghel is meeting them separately.”

Asked when he and Channi will be seen together, Warring said, “In a day or two, you will see us all together”. He claimed that he did not hold a grudge against any leader and that the Congress was united.

On the Channi group’s bid not to accept his presidentship of the state party unit, Warring said, “There was nothing like that”. “Tell me one senior leader who has said that they are not ready to accept me as state unit president. Channi, Sukhjinder Randhawa, Aruna Chaudhary, Partap Singh Bajwa – tell me who among these leaders has said so,” he claimed.