Amidst the looming 2027 assembly elections in Punjab, Congress has intensified efforts to revamp the state unit. The party leadership now seems serious about Punjab Congress, which has been struggling with factionalism and internal strife for a long time. The party realizes that if organizational problems are not resolved in time, it may have to suffer huge losses in the upcoming elections.
In this context, recently Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi, Congress President Mallikarjun Kharge and Punjab affairs in-charge Bhupesh Baghel held an important meeting with senior leaders of the state. The current situation of Punjab Congress and the ongoing challenges within the organization were discussed in detail in the meeting.
High command’s increased attention on Punjab
The seriousness of the Congress high command regarding Punjab can be gauged from the fact that in the last two weeks, five big organizational meetings related to the state were organized. Apart from this, the party leadership has constituted a committee of three senior observers, which also includes Ajay Maken, to assess the political situation in Punjab.
The supervisory committee has called about 70 leaders of the state for talks. These include MPs, MLAs, former ministers, district presidents and other senior officials. By dividing the leaders into two groups, their opinion is being sought on issues like possible change in the post of State Congress President, balance between Jat Sikh and Dalit Sikh leadership and formation of pending committees related to elections. According to sources, the committee may submit its report to the high command in the next few weeks, after which major changes may be seen in the organization.
Will the leadership of Punjab Congress change?
The performance of Congress in the recent local body elections has raised new questions regarding the state leadership. The party suffered a setback especially in Gidderbaha, which is considered to be the political stronghold of current state Congress president Raja Vading. Here Aam Aadmi Party gave a strong message to Congress by winning 17 out of 19 wards.
On the other hand, Congress’s performance was better in Chamkaur Sahib area, which is dominated by former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi. After this, Channi’s name has once again emerged prominently in the race for the post of State Congress President. It is being told that Channi is continuously trying for a bigger role in the organization.
However, there are different opinions within the party regarding leadership change. Some leaders are in favor of continuing the responsibility with the current president Raja Vading, while some are advocating giving a chance to a new face. Among the possible contenders, names like Charanjit Singh Channi, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Vijayendra Singla are also in discussion.
Jat Sikh and Dalit Sikh equation is the biggest challenge
The biggest political challenge before the Punjab Congress is to establish a balance between the Jat Sikh and Dalit Sikh communities. At present, both the State Congress President and the leader of the Congress Legislative Party in the Assembly come from the Jat Sikh community. At the same time, a section of Dalit leadership is demanding more representation in the organization and power structure.
Punjab is the state in the country where the population of Scheduled Castes is highest. But in the last few years, a large section of Dalit voters have moved away from Congress and towards Aam Aadmi Party. In such a situation, it is not easy for Congress to decide whether to again put forward a Dalit face like Charanjit Singh Channi or work on some other formula.
On the other hand, Bharatiya Janata Party has tried to woo Jat Sikh voters by making Keval Singh Dhillon the President of Punjab BJP. This has further increased the pressure on Congress to create social balance.
What is the way forward?
At present, no final decision has been taken regarding change of leadership in Punjab Congress. But the way the high command is continuously holding meetings and taking the opinion of the leaders through observers, it is clear that the party is in a mood to take big decisions to strengthen and unite the organization before the 2027 elections.
Now everyone’s eyes are on the report of the supervisory committee. Only after the report comes, it will be clear whether Punjab Congress will get a new president or trust will be maintained on the existing leadership.
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