As former Punjab CM Charanjit Singh Channi put up a show of strength by organising a mega meet of party workers on Friday, at least two current MLAs from Doaba were among the party legislators who marked their presence at his residence in Morinda, Chamkaur Sahib, along with several other leaders.
While Rana Gurjit Singh and Ladi Sherowalia marked their presence at the meet, noted among the absentees were Pargat Singh, Sukhpal Khaira, among others.
Channi organised the massive meet as a response to the recently released list of Congress office bearers, to mark discontentment among party workers over the party’s recent appointments ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
Doaba leaders, who remained present at Channi’s mega meet, were Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjit Singh, Shahkot MLA Hardev Singh Ladi Sherowalia, District Urban Jalandhar President Rajinder Beri, Nakodar Halka Incharge Navjot Dahia, and Kartarpur Halka Incharge Rajinder Singh, among others.
Prominent among those who skipped the meeting were Jalandhar Cantt MLA Pargat Singh, Bholath MLA Sukhpal Khaira, Jalandhar North MLA Bawa Henry, Adampur MLA Sukhwinder Kotli, Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary, among others. Most of the absentee MLAs remained tight-lipped.
A senior Jalandhar leader, who didn’t attend the meeting, said on condition of anonymity, “I don’t have anything to say about the meeting. Only the ones who attended the meeting can say what they had in mind. They may have misgivings, which they aired on a platform they deemed fit. These things could have been shared on the party’s internal platforms."
Another Congress MLA said, “Ultimately, the list released by the party high command has undoubtedly sparked discontent. Many have a problem with the list. Party leaders and workers had expected a change in the party president’s name. The rest are all contributing factors."
Party’s Phillaur MLA Vikramjit Chaudhary said, “I was out playing golf all day. I have no interest in the meeting. The party has chosen some leaders after due diligence. When everyone came to a consensus, the party list was announced. I believe it’s time we abide by the party line and prepare for the elections."
Shahkot MLA Hardev Singh Ladi Sherowalia, who was among the attendees at the meeting, said, “Some people are giving negative connotations to the meeting, but it was just a meeting of leaders who had been raising various issues with Channi Sahib as a campaign committee head for the past 2-3 days. Today, he gave time to all of them on a common platform so that these can be aired at the high command level by him. It was an initiative aimed at dissolving ifs and buts and devising a joint strategy to fight strongly for elections. Channi Sahib has listened to us; he will speak to the high command. People of the state want to see him. So under him, we must resolve all our issues."
