3 min readChandigarhJun 21, 2026 06:14 PM IST
First published on: Jun 21, 2026 at 03:16 PM IST
Amid buzz over a possible overhaul of the Punjab Congress leadership ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi Sunday held one-on-one meetings with five senior leaders from the state unit at his residence in New Delhi.
Sunday’s meetings came a day after a three-member observer committee led by Congress treasurer Ajay Maken submitted its report on the party’s organisational and political situation in Punjab to party president Mallikarjun Kharge. The panel, which also comprised Meenakshi Natarajan and Bhajan Lal Jatav, had been tasked with assessing the organisational health of the state unit and gathering feedback on issues ranging from leadership and factionalism to election preparedness.
Sources said Rahul Gandhi met Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, former CM Charanjit Singh Channi, former ministers Sukhjinder Randhawa and Vijay Inder Singla separately.
The consultations are being viewed as part of the party high command’s ongoing exercise to take a final call on the Punjab unit as it prepares for the Assembly elections.
Emerging from the meeting, Warring sought to focus attention on the party’s electoral strategy rather than the leadership debate. “I only know how the Congress has to contest the elections, on which issues the party has to contest the elections, and what our issues will be. All these issues were discussed today. There is no difference of opinion in our party. We will uproot the AAP and the AAP will face the same fate in Punjab as it did in Delhi,” he said.
Bajwa also avoided commenting on speculation surrounding organisational changes. “We had a good meeting. Punjab’s issues were discussed. Whatever Rahul Gandhi decides is acceptable to us,” he said.
The observer panel’s report has acquired particular importance because it follows weeks of lobbying by rival camps within the Punjab Congress. Earlier this month, the party leadership deputed the three observers to Chandigarh, where they held one-on-one interactions with MPs, MLAs, former legislators, district presidents, and other office-bearers. Leaders were asked to give their views on the functioning of the organisation, prospects for the 2027 elections, and whether any organisational changes were required to strengthen the party.
The exercise was ordered after a series of meetings in Delhi highlighted continuing differences within the state unit. While one section has been advocating organisational changes to energise the cadre and improve coordination, another has argued that changing the leadership barely months before the Assembly elections could prove disruptive.
Although the Congress high command has not officially indicated the direction it intends to take, sources said the consultation process appeared to be over.
Talking about Sunday’s meetings, Vijay Inder Singla said, “The discussions centred on Punjab’s political situation, the issues on which the party plans to take on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, and preparations for the next Assembly polls.”
File photo of Congress leader Rahul Gandhi. 
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