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Internal divisions and leadership uncertainty complicate Congress preparations for Punjab elections.
With the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections fast approaching, the Congress has intensified internal consultations over its electoral strategy even as it continues to grapple with deepening factionalism and leadership uncertainty within its state unit.
According to senior party sources, the Congress leadership has been holding a series of discussions at multiple levels to formulate its roadmap for Punjab. However, persistent infighting among senior leaders has emerged as the party’s biggest hurdle, threatening to derail its preparations for the crucial electoral contest.
The Punjab Congress remains divided into multiple power centres, with factions led by Partap Singh Bajwa, state Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and other senior leaders competing for organisational influence. Party insiders said that instead of working collectively to strengthen the organisation ahead of the elections, many leaders are focused on positioning themselves for key roles within the party.
“With the Assembly elections nearing, several senior leaders are more concerned about emerging as the central face of the organisation than preparing the party for the electoral battle,” a senior party source told Read. “The central leadership has made repeated efforts to bridge the differences, but has so far been unable to fully resolve the internal discord.”
Despite multiple rounds of consultations involving the party’s top leadership, decision-making on organisational matters in Punjab has remained sluggish. The Congress high command, including Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, has convened several meetings with state leaders, urging them to end the “game of one-upmanship” and present a united front ahead of the elections. However, according to insiders, factional rivalries continue to undermine the party’s organisational cohesion.
Notably, the Congress’ problems in Punjab have been compounded by the departure of several senior leaders over the past few years, creating a leadership vacuum within the state unit. Many of those who left the Congress accused state president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring of mismanaging the organisation and marginalising loyal party workers.
Amid the ongoing turmoil, the Congress leadership is exploring a new organisational formula aimed at ensuring balanced representation for Jat Sikhs, Dalit Sikhs and the Hindu community in the state unit.
Sources said AICC secretary Vijay Inder Singla has emerged as a strong contender for the post of Punjab Congress president. A former MP from Sangrur, Singla is regarded as one of the party’s prominent Hindu faces and belongs to the politically significant Malwa region, which accounts for nearly 69 Assembly constituencies. In the 2017 Assembly elections, the Congress had secured 40 seats from the region.
Former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi is also actively seeking a larger organisational role. Although he suffered defeats from both Assembly constituencies in the 2022 elections, Channi staged a political comeback by winning the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat in 2024. According to sources, he has conveyed to Congress General Secretary K.C. Venugopal that he is willing to lead the party into the 2027 Assembly elections and believes he is best suited to head the Punjab Congress.
Meanwhile, Punjab Congress in-charge Bhupesh Baghel has reportedly requested the party high command to relieve him of his responsibilities in the state so that he can concentrate on Chhattisgarh, where Assembly elections are due in 2028.
Party sources further indicated that the leadership is also considering assigning senior leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa a more prominent organisational role. Randhawa, who belongs to the politically important Majha region comprising 25 Assembly constituencies, is viewed as a key leader from the area. The Congress had won 22 seats in Majha and 15 of the 23 seats in the Doaba region during the 2017 Assembly elections.
According to insiders, the Congress leadership is treading cautiously, mindful of the political fallout from its 2021 decision to replace Captain Amarinder Singh with Charanjit Singh Channi as Chief Minister just months before the Assembly elections, while simultaneously appointing Navjot Singh Sidhu as the state Congress chief. The experiment eventually triggered a series of setbacks, including Amarinder Singh’s exit from the party.
More recently, Navjot Kaur Sidhu’s decision to float a separate political outfit has further reinforced the leadership’s resolve not to repeat the mistakes that proved costly in 2022.
Political analyst Ravindra Singh Sheoran said Rahul Gandhi has personally taken charge of efforts to resolve the factional differences within the Punjab Congress.
“The Congress believes that its electoral prospects in Punjab depend more on Rahul Gandhi’s popularity than on any individual state leader, making Punjab unique among North Indian states,” Sheoran told Read.
He said the issue of appointing a new Punjab Congress president remains unresolved, with several senior leaders pushing for organisational changes after Amarinder Singh Raja Warring completed more than three years as state chief. However, replacing Warring is far from straightforward, as the party must strike a delicate balance between Dalit and Jat Sikh leadership while also safeguarding the organisational gains made since the last Assembly elections.
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