Why Congress is keen on retaining Amrinder Raja Warring as Punjab unit chief

AICC general secretary in-charge of Punjab Bhupesh Baghel, who met Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge on Wednesday, also indicated a status quo in Punjab. “I met leaders in Punjab… I met everyone… I have no control over what the media runs. This is not a game of puppets,” Baghel said.

Baghel had earlier submitted a detailed report to the party leadership, highlighting the ground situation, particularly the firm stance of former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and senior leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa against Warring. Speculation had been rife over a possible leadership change, with sources even suggesting that Warring might consider stepping down.

The infighting in the Punjab Congress has intensified since the party high command announced earlier this month that Warring would continue as Punjab Congress president while appointing Channi as chairman of the campaign committee.

The arrangement was seen as an attempt to balance competing power centres in the state unit. However, Channi is learnt to have been unhappy with the decision, with sources saying he believed that after leading the party’s campaign and emerging as one of its prominent faces in Punjab, he deserved a larger organisational role. His supporters have also argued that the campaign committee post does not come with any real organisational authority.

The move, intended to project unity within the party, instead triggered fresh tensions, with factions loyal to Channi and other disgruntled leaders, including Randhawa, expressing strong reservations about continuing under Warring’s leadership.

While infighting in the state unit has persisted, party sources said leaders unhappy with Warring would be engaged and pacified over time. “In a healthy democratic setup, it is good to have competition and differences. Those who are unhappy — for whatever reasons — will be spoken to and pacified by the party high command and senior leadership when the time is right,” a source said.

The turmoil echoes earlier phases of factionalism in the Punjab Congress. Channi, who recently met several senior party leaders in Delhi, has openly conveyed his dissatisfaction with Warring’s leadership. Randhawa, too, reportedly referred to “compromised leaders” in a veiled attack, prompting a sharp response from Warring, who maintained that there was no place for such elements in the party and that internal differences would eventually be resolved.

The Congress, which was routed by the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) in the 2022 Assembly elections, is hoping to mount a strong challenge to the Bhagwant Mann government by presenting a united front and banking on Rahul Gandhi’s popularity. However, with factional fault lines still visible despite the high command’s efforts at balancing rival camps, unresolved infighting could undermine the party’s prospects in a state where it has traditionally been a principal political force.