High drama at Punjab Congress meet as Channi challenges Jat Sikh dominance in party

The fireworks started right at the beginning of the meeting when Channi took the mic and started speaking. According to a Congress leader present in the meeting, Channi launched a scathing criticism of his own party for not recognising Dalit leaders while appointing PCC president, Leader of Opposition and NSUI president among other offices. All these major posts are currently being held by Jat Sikhs.

Channi is said to have complained that the Dalit leaders were being sidelined and ignored in crucial appointments and now that the Assembly elections were approaching, they were expected to put in all the work. “Channi received full support from all the SC community workers present in the hall who raised slogans in his support,” said a Channi supporter.

The former CM, who is also the MP from Jalandhar, is learnt to have stressed that the Dalit representation in crucial appointments should be in proportion to their numbers in the state.

“An embarrassed PCC president had no option but to hastily step in and say that these issues were to be discussed at other forums. Channi’s mic had to be switched off to prevent him from speaking further,” said another Congress leader who was present in the meeting but did not want to be named.

It is also learnt that there was a war of words between Channi and former MLA from Jandiala Sukhwinder Singh Danny Bandala. The latter challenged Channi’s statements and is reported to have said that the party had made him the Leader of Opposition and chief minister and that he was now member of Congress Working Committee (CWC). Several other SC leaders who belong to other sub communities also are learnt to have opposed Channi’s comments.

Channi has been positioning himself as the chief ministerial candidate of Congress for 2027 Punjab Assembly polls while the party leadership has not shown any enthusiasm. AICC general secretary in charge of Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel, recently confirmed that there would not be any CM face of the party in the Assembly polls.

The Congress had tried social engineering in its last government in Punjab to broaden its appeal. In 2021, following the removal of Capt Amarinder Singh, the elevation of Channi as first ever Dalit Sikh CM was seen as an attempt to consolidate the large Scheduled Caste vote (approximately 32% of population) in Punjab ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections. However the ploy failed to work and Channi lost from the two Assembly constituencies (Chamkaur Sahib and Bhadaur) that he contested from.

Punjab Congress has been — and to a large extent continues to be — Jat Sikh dominated, especially in rural strongholds and decision-making regarding ticket distribution and rural strategy. While the party has made conscious efforts since 2021 to reduce over-dependence on this group through Dalit, Hindu, and OBC outreach, the structural realities of Punjab politics — land, rural seats, community mobilization — mean Jat Sikhs remain the most influential bloc within the state unit. Any major shift away from this dominance risks alienating a crucial rural vote bank in an already weakened party.