In response to the Congress camp of MP Charanjit Singh Channi advocating for a leadership change in Punjab before the Assembly elections, AICC in-charge for the state, Bhupesh Baghel, is scheduled to visit Chandigarh for two to three days starting Monday. Baghel’s visit aims to engage with the state leadership, including chairpersons, co-chairpersons, and committee members, to strategize for the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. The focus will be on enhancing the party’s organization at the grassroots level, improving coordination among committees, and devising an action plan to reach every village and city in Punjab with the Congress message.
A series of extensive meetings will be conducted with committee heads, senior leaders, and organizational functionaries to establish a robust and election-ready Congress organization capable of regaining power in Punjab during the Assembly elections. Supporters of former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, including several ex-legislators, have expressed solidarity and called for his appointment as the state Congress chief, replacing the current incumbent, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring. The central leadership of the party had recently decided to maintain Warring as the state Congress chief and Partap Singh Bajwa as the Leader of Opposition, while appointing Channi as the chairman of the Campaign Committee.
Amidst demands for a leadership change by the Channi camp, Raja Warring emphasized unity and dismissed any factionalism within the party. He clarified that Channi, being a former Chief Minister and the Campaign Committee Chairman, had every right to convene meetings with party leaders. Warring reiterated that he was not in the race for Chief Ministerial candidacy and deferred the decision on declaring the Chief Ministerial candidate to the high command, including party President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, the Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha.
