Punjab Congress truce secured, but can it survive the next flashpoint?

The decision came after extensive discussions that saw much intense behind-the-scenes muscle-flexing, sources said. The high command had undertaken the massive consultation exercise — a three-member panel headed by AICC treasurer Ajay Maken met as many as 66 senior leaders — after a sizable section of the leadership felt Warring should be replaced.

At least 30 Jatt Sikh leaders had even written to Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge seeking an audience to pitch for the appointment of Channi, a Dalit Sikh, as Pradesh Congress Committee (PCC) president. As the Channi camp mounted pressure, the other blocs too became active. Sources said Warring got the support of the majority of the district Congress presidents, appointed in November 2025. Separately, senior Jatt Sikh leaders Bajwa and Randhawa joined hands to ensure that Channi does not get the top post, said sources.

At one point, a proposal came from the anti-Channi camp that if appointed PCC president, he should not be allowed to contest the Assembly elections. Then there was another argument that changing Warring, who had been at the helm for over four years, months before the elections, would send a wrong signal.

The Congress high command’s decision to remove Captain Amarinder Singh as the CM and replace him with Channi months before the 2022 Assembly elections had ended in a disaster. The Congress went into elections under Channi’s leadership and managed to win just 18 of the 117 seats, its worst-ever performance.

Channi is a Lok Sabha MP and so are Randhawa, Amar Singh, and Raja Warring. High command sources said the question of whether MPs should be allowed to contest the Assembly elections could be the next flashpoint. There is no hard and fast rule in the Congress on MPs contesting Assembly elections. Recently, the Congress high command did not allow MPs to contest the Kerala elections, but at the same time fielded Congress Deputy Leader in the Lok Sabha, Gaurav Gogoi, from Jorhat in the Assam polls. Gogoi, who was virtually the party’s CM face, lost by more than 23,000 votes.

In the past, the party appointed Lok Sabha MPs as CMs after winning elections. The last instance was the appointment of Kamal Nath as the Madhya Pradesh CM in 2018. Bhupinder Singh Hooda got the Haryana CM post way back in 2005 when he was a Lok Sabha MP. Channi is learnt to be upset with the high command’s decision and has not commented on it so far.

Why Manish Tewari is upset

And it is not just Channi. Chandigarh MP Lok Sabha Manish Tewari is upset with the party for not consulting him and has made his displeasure known. Arguing that people tend to pick flaws in those who are talented, he posted on X on Friday, “Wish I had an antidote for the insecurities of individuals and institutions! Having said that, the Congress has given me enough over the past 45 years and I have also devoted my entire adult life in the service of the Indian National Congress over the decades. Que sera, sera, Whatever will be, will be.”

Tewari did not elaborate on this when contacted. Sources, however, said he was upset about not being consulted during the feedback exercise. He, the sources said, was neither aspiring to run Punjab Congress nor was he vying for any other post. Tewari has represented Ludhiana and Anandpur Sahib in the Lok Sabha in the past and now represents Chandigarh, the capital of Punjab.

“The high command did not have the courtesy to speak to him to know whether he had a view. Even district presidents were called to Delhi to elicit their views. If the argument is that he is not an MP from Punjab but of Chandigarh, then what can we say? Chandigarh is not like Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, the message that the high command is sending is that he is not wanted. How long can the high command keep humiliating him for no rhyme or reason?” sources asked.