Indicating a possible reset in the faction-ridden Punjab Congress ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections, Leader of Opposition in Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi on Friday held one-on-one meetings with five senior leaders from the state unit.
Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge and AICC general secretary KC Venugopal were also present during the deliberations. Punjab affairs in-charge Bhupesh Baghel was notably absent from these interactions.
The meetings involved PPCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, CLP leader Partap Singh Bajwa, former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Vijay Inder Singla and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa.
Though Baghel has ruled out any immediate change in leadership — a position earlier reiterated by Venugopal — sources described Rahul Gandhi’s direct engagements as a strong signal of organisational changes that the high command intends to initiate in the coming weeks.
After hearing the leaders individually, Rahul Gandhi addressed the group collectively and emphasised the need for unity and teamwork in the run-up to the 2027 poll.
The party high command is keeping its cards close to its chest, but sources indicated it is working on an “all-appease” formula to accommodate various warring factions. While a complete overhaul of the state unit has not been ruled out, the focus remains on adjusting leaders from different power centres.
Experienced leaders like Warring, Bajwa, Randhawa, Channi, Singla, Rana KP Singh, Pargat Singh and Dr Amar Singh are likely to be accommodated in key panels such as the manifesto committee, campaign committee and election committee.
“Based on popularity surveys and feedback from individual leaders, the high command now fairly knows the issues that need to be handled while ensuring the party works as a unit,” said a senior party leader.
Party leaders pointed out that the high command’s recent decisive interventions in southern states reflect a major shift in Rahul Gandhi’s operational style. These moves are expected to have a bearing on Punjab as well.
Today’s meeting followed a series of interactions between the top leadership and senior Punjab leaders since January. Warring, Bajwa and Channi had earlier also held separate one-on-one meetings with Rahul Gandhi, Kharge and Venugopal.
The high command is wary of the BJP attempting to poach disgruntled leaders. Any decision on the state unit is expected to address this concern. The 2027 elections will be fought without projecting any specific chief ministerial face, with the aim to bring all leaders on one platform, sources added.
The fresh deliberations come close on the heels of Congress’ poor showing in the Punjab civic body polls, where the party finished a distant second behind the ruling AAP. While the anti-Warring factions blamed the PPCC chief for the poor performance, supporters of Warring blamed Channi for the bad show in Jalandhar.
