“All three resignations accepted”: Ashu, 2 others out as Ludhiana West loss leaves Punjab Cong ‘vertically split’

AICC Punjab affairs incharge Bhupesh Baghel made the announcement on X, confirming that the resignations of Ashu and PPCC vice-presidents Pargat Singh and Dhillon had been accepted.

“All three resignations have been accepted. The party expresses its gratitude for the services of all three leaders in their respective roles and wishes them a bright future,” Baghel posted.

The three leaders had campaigned together for the seat, but Ashu lost to Aam Aadmi Party (AAP)’s Sanjeev Arora by over 10,000 votes.

The result has sharpened the spotlight on factionalism within the state unit, with several Congress leaders warning of a “vertical split” if the rift between PPCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring and Ashu is not addressed by the high command.

Though Ashu alleged the ruling AAP won through “brazen misuse of power and high-handedness,” party insiders say the damage was largely self-inflicted. “If the high command doesn’t intervene immediately, the split will only widen before 2027,” said a senior leader.

Baghel, when contacted by The Indian Express, declined to comment further. “I would not like to talk about the Ludhiana bypoll results. It is our internal party matter,” he said.

Missing faces, visible cracks

The internal fault lines between Warring and Ashu were visible throughout the campaign for the Ludhiana West bypoll.

Warring, Leader of Opposition in Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa, and several “star campaigners” stayed away from Ashu’s campaign. Local Ludhiana leaders from Warring’s camp were also absent. Warring later claimed he was never “invited” to campaign but still went “wherever he was.”

Many told The Indian Express they were never invited. “We were signalled our participation wasn’t required,” said a local leader.

Among those missing were PPCC general secretary Captain Sandeep Sandhu, Ludhiana district urban president Sanjay Talwar, former MLAs Rakesh Pandey, Jassi Khangura, Surinder Dawar, ex-bureaucrat Kuldip Singh Vaid, and “Bains brothers”- former MLAs Simarjeet and Balwinder Bains, who had joined Congress during 2024 Lok Sabha polls and support Warring who had contested from Ludhiana and won.

“Star campaigners” who skipped included Warring, Bajwa, Bholath MLA Sukhpal Khaira, Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, and Baghel himself who wasn’t seen campaigning barring Ashu’s nomination and concluding roadshow events. Former Ludhiana MP Manish Tewari’s programme was also “cancelled.”

However, those who did campaign for Ashu included Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh (bypoll incharge), Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat Singh, former Punjab chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Fatehgarh Sahib MP Dr Amar Singh, Amethi MP Kishori Lal Sharma and Patiala MP Dr Dharamvira Gandhi.

The Ashu-Warring rift began during the 2024 Lok Sabha polls, when Warring — not a local face — was fielded from Ludhiana. Ashu, then recently out on bail in a corruption case, was sidelined.

A former MLA from Ludhiana said, “Ashu said he didn’t need us. We were all in Ludhiana on the final day of campaigning, but no invites came. Instead, leaders from other districts led the show.”

Randhawa confirmed, “My name was on the list of star campaigners, but I never got a message. So I didn’t go.”

Former MLA Jassi Khangura said, “Ashu never asked me. We even went with Warring to meet him at his residence after his candidature was announced, but he didn’t meet us. He allowed his campaign to be hijacked by outsiders.”

Ludhiana urban president Talwar, also absent, said, “Each candidate has their own strategy and only he decides who should campaign for him. But this was a winnable seat, a Congress bastion, and we lost.”

Khaira said, “Bypolls are usually won by ruling parties. But the high command must urgently resolve the rift before it’s too late.”

Ashu maintained he never stopped anyone from campaigning. “Everyone was welcome to campaign wherever they wanted. It was Warring’s responsibility to come as state president,” he said.

Warring, reacting to the defeat and resignations, said: “I went to campaign wherever I was called. I will continue to fulfil my duties as PPCC president.”

“The highest degree of indiscipline”

However, according to a senior Congress leader, what made the high command accept three resignations was the “highest degree of indiscipline” displayed by Ashu by not attending the press conference jointly addressed by Baghel, Warring and Bajwa in Ludhiana on June 16, a day before the campaigning for the bypoll had ended.

In a tit for tat, Warring also did not attend Ashu’s roadshow on the last day of the campaigning even as he was in the city, and said he was “never invited.”

In another cold war of one-upmanship, both inducted each other’s rivals into the party during the bypoll.

First, Ashu and Channi inducted Karan Warring, a local leader from Dakha, against Raja Warring’s wishes.

Then, Ashu inducted a local leader Kamaljit Singh Karwal into the party without Warring’s consent. Karwal is the bête noire of former MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains, whom Warring had inducted into the party last year. In a tit for tat, Warring then re-inducted suspended Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary, who is the bête noire of Ashu’s close aide Charanjit Singh Channi, the former chief minister of Punjab.