Factional Slogans Rock Punjab Congress Event as Leadership Rift Persists

The Punjab Congress witnessed another public display of internal discord on Saturday after supporters of former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi raised slogans in his favour during a party programme in Patiala, highlighting the party's renewed factional tensions ahead of the state Assembly elections.

The disruption occurred during the 'Har Booth, Congress Mazboot' campaign while Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring was addressing party workers. Channi's supporters repeatedly chanted slogans backing the former chief minister, briefly interrupting the event despite Warring's appeals for discipline. Senior leaders, including AICC Punjab in-charge Bhupesh Baghel, were present and witnessed the incident.

Addressing party workers later, Baghel stressed that the Congress high command would decide the party's chief ministerial face and ministers only after the elections, reiterating that no pre-poll leadership announcement would be made. He also warned that strict action would be taken against anyone indulging in indiscipline, irrespective of their position within the party.

Warring announced the suspension of former MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur over remarks against senior Congress leaders, signalling the leadership's intent to enforce organisational discipline.

The latest episode reflects the evolving leadership dynamics in Punjab Congress, where differences have persisted despite repeated calls for unity. The unease intensified after the party retained Warring as the state unit president while appointing Channi as chairman of the campaign committee, a decision opposed by a section of senior leaders, including MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.

Several party workers attending the programme urged the leadership to heed grassroots sentiment while deciding the party's future leadership, with some advocating Channi as the chief ministerial face.

Although the Congress leadership has consistently maintained that the state unit remains united, the renewed slogan-shouting at official events indicates that internal rivalries continue to shape the party's political landscape in Punjab.