Just days after the Congress high command convened a two-day huddle in New Delhi to end speculation over infighting in the Punjab unit, with senior leaders subsequently vowing to work together, the party’s first major political mobilisation in the state revealed lingering signs of internal discord.
On Saturday, former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, former deputy chief minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and senior leader Rana Gurjit Singh visited the protesting sanitation workers in Barnala together in the forenoon, and later addressed a press conference at Barnala MLA Kuldeep Singh Kala Dhillon’s residence.
Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring reached the protest site separately in the evening, accompanied by local leaders. He later led a candle march and met the injured protesters.
The separate appearances came despite assertions after the New Delhi meetings, chaired by Punjab Congress in-charge Bhupesh Baghel, that differences within the state unit had been resolved and leaders will work collectively.
While Warring had described Channi and other senior leaders as the “party’s strength”, Randhawa had maintained that the Punjab Congress was never divided and will remain one, asserting that the party will fight the next assembly election together.
{{/usCountry}}While Warring had described Channi and other senior leaders as the “party’s strength”, Randhawa had maintained that the Punjab Congress was never divided and will remain one, asserting that the party will fight the next assembly election together.
{{/usCountry}}The Barnala protest marked the Congress’ first major political outing in Punjab after the Delhi meetings, where the party leadership sought to project a united front ahead of the 2027 assembly elections.
At the morning press conference, Channi sought answers from chief minister Bhagwant Mann and AAP supremo Arvind Kejriwal for failing to regularise sanitation workers despite earlier promises, while Bajwa said the Congress will raise every issue related to the July 22 police lathicharge in the upcoming assembly session.
Though, when asked about factionalism, Channi declined to comment.
Warring, meanwhile, said the Congress would gherao the SSP’s office and approach the Punjab and Haryana high court if the Barnala SSP failed to register an FIR against the police personnel responsible for the lathicharge.
He also rejected any link between his separate visit and the party’s internal differences, explaining that prior engagements had prevented him from joining the morning delegation.
However, senior Congress leaders said the Barnala episode reflected continuing divisions between the rival camps despite the high command’s efforts to project unity.
“While the Congress has mounted a coordinated attack on the AAP government over the Barnala incident, the separate appearances by its senior leaders have once again highlighted that visible coordination between the rival factions remains a work in progress despite the intervention by the high command,” said a senior Congress leader, requesting anonymity.
Another senior leader from the Channi camp, also speaking on condition of anonymity, said there was nothing unusual about senior leaders organising political programmes without the Punjab Congress chief.
“We are working for the Congress. We have to stand by our workers and the state employees who were brutally lathi-charged by the Punjab Police,” the leader said.
Despite repeated attempts, Warring could not be contacted for further comment.
The turmoil in the Punjab Congress began on July 1, when the high command retained Warring as the Punjab unit president and appointed Channi as chairperson of the campaign committee. The arrangement, however, failed to satisfy the Channi camp, which immediately launched a campaign demanding Warring’s removal, prompting Bhupesh Baghel to visit Punjab and convene meetings in New Delhi to diffuse the infighting.