No leadership change in Punjab, says Bhupesh Baghel; Congress insiders sceptic

“A meeting on Punjab was held a few days ago and one was held today as well as the Assembly polls are near. Serious deliberations have been held on the way forward ,” Baghel told reporters.

Asked if a change of guard is being contemplated in the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee, Baghel said, “I had said a few days ago…there was no discussion on that…No discussion was held on leadership,” he added.

On Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Baghel said he is the PCC chief and the upcoming election in the state will be fought under the leadership of Kharge and Gandhi. “The state leadership will fight the polls collectively,” he asserted.

The meeting comes day after deliberations on Punjab were held at Kharge’s residence in the presence party’s state unit leaders. Baghel had then also denied any change in leadership saying that “Punjab is a very important state for the Congress as well as for the country and the party would prepare an action plan and hit the streets very soon”.

However, speaking to The Indian Express, a senior Congress leader said that a change was “100 per cent likely”. “I am fairly certain that a new state president and a new Leader of Opposition will be appointed and the head of campaign committee will be named,” he said on condition of anonymity.

Another party leader contended too said that Warring was certain to replaced, especially after the BJP has named a Jat Sikh, Kewal Dhillon, as the state president. “With all other three contending parties in 2027 elections — AAP, SAD and BJP — now having Sikh leaders at the helm, how can Congress go in for a non-Sikh leader as party president? This is something about which the party high command will have to take a call,” he said.

Rumour mills within Congress ranks have been buzzing for long on the names of possible candidates. These include Vijay Inder Singla, Charanjit Singh Channi, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Partap Singh Bajwa, Sukhbinder Singh Sukh Sarkaria and Rana KP Singh.

Warring was appointed as president of the Punjab Congress on April 9, 2022, succeeding Navjot Singh Sidhu. He has now held the position for over four years while also serving as a Member of Parliament from Ludhiana.

Under his leadership, Congress secured seven out of 13 seats in Punjab in 2024 general elections, a notable recovery from the party’s 2022 Assembly election rout. Warring himself won the prestigious Ludhiana seat by defeating BJP’s Ravneet Singh Bittu, a former Congress leader, by a margin of about 21,000 votes.

Warring has focused on unifying factions, criticizing the ruling AAP government on issues like corruption, debt, law and order, and lack of development. He has publicly advocated for fresh faces in the party, arguing that Punjab is “fed up with old Congress faces” and emphasizing discipline and loyalty ahead of 2027 polls.

Congress has performed poorly in recent urban local body elections with AAP dominating and this has led to criticism of Warring within Congress ranks. A meeting of the Punjab unit leaders with the central leadership in Delhi last week saw fireworks involving Channi, who asked how the party could gear up for the 2027 polls when the state party chief failed to perform on home turf.