Today was a very important day for Punjab Congress because today Sachin Payal reached Chandigarh for the first time after getting the charge of Punjab. However, he was not welcomed like any other in-charge nor was there any taking over ceremony. Congress workers and leaders led by Sachin Pilot demonstrated against the Punjab government in the Gulzar Singh case. The most special thing about this demonstration was that after about 3 months, all the big leaders of the party were seen together on one stage. Former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and former Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who were showing rebellious attitude for months, also participated in this demonstration.
There is discussion in political circles that the work which Bhupesh Baghel could not do in three months was done by Sachin Pilot in one day. There was continuous rebellion in Punjab Congress for the last three months. Channi was adamant on the demand of removing faction chief Raja Vading but the Congress high command was not accepting this demand. The leaders of Channi group had distanced themselves from the official programs of the party. A lot of posters and slogans were raised against each other but even after warning from the high command, the matter did not calm down. Eventually the high command changed the in-charge.
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Unity was seen today
After becoming in-charge, Sachin Pilot came to Chandigarh for the first time today but for this visit he spent several days in Delhi. Sachin Pilot made a plan to unite Punjab Congress by meeting Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, Raja Wadding, Ambika Soni, Pratap Singh Bajwa, Charanjit Singh Channi, Sukhjinder Randhawa and many big leaders. He announced from Delhi itself that he will participate in the protest on September 15 to get justice for Gulzar Singh and against the Aam Aadmi Party government. Instructions were given to all the leaders for this demonstration and all the leaders also promoted it from social media to the streets.
This morning when Sachin Pilot stepped on the soil of Punjab, Pradhan Raja Wading went to welcome him and then both of them reached Chandigarh together. Many leaders along with a crowd of hundreds were waiting for him in Chandigarh. The special thing was that Raja Vading and former CM Charanjit Singh Channi appeared together on the stage with Sachin Pilot. These two leaders had not come together for the last three months.
What did the leaders say?
The speech of former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi, who was not matching the tone of Congress for the last several days, is being discussed today. Today he was seen sitting on the stage with Sachin Pilot and Raja Vading was sitting on the other side. During this time a conversation also took place between the two. When Channi got the mic, he said what Sachin Pilot wanted to hear. Channi said, 'We will fight together, we will die together and Kejriwal and Gang, which is a company, who are black Englishmen, will drive them out of Punjab.' Till now he was not talking about this unity but today he announced it from the stage.
Along with this, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who had joined the Channi faction, was also seen talking on the party line. Sukhjinder Randhawa said from the stage that we all have to fight together and win the elections. He demanded the arrest of Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema in the Gulzar Singh case. He appealed from the stage to help the Congress party win the elections and said that after winning the elections, it is for the high command to decide who should lead. He said that the high command is like parents and when they take a decision, the children follow it.
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What challenge lies ahead?
Sachin Pilot seems to be passing his first test today and many political experts are giving him full marks. But he will still have to face many difficult tests. Even though Congress leaders have come together on one platform, it is Sachin Pilot's challenge to keep them together. There is a fight for the CM's chair in the Congress party and not just one or two but many faces want to become the CM. In such a situation, everyone will demand tickets for themselves and their supporters. Be it Raja Vading or Charanjit Singh Channi, all the leaders will try to get tickets for the workers of their respective groups.
Along with this, the three leaders involved in the CM race are MPs and the party has to decide whether these faces will contest the elections or not. At present, all the leaders seem to agree that they will contest the elections without a CM face but there will definitely be a fight for the tickets.