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PPCC chief Raja Warring camp prevails as Congress names 27 district chiefs in Punjab
The rival faction led by former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Pargat Singh, and Khushaldeep Singh Dhillon didn’t have a major say in the rejig.
The All India Congress Committee (AICC), in an organisational reshuffle, released the list of 27 out of 29 district Congress committee (DCC) presidents in Punjab. The announcement came just hours after polling concluded for the Tarn Taran Assembly byelection late evening on Tuesday late evening.
The names for the Mansa and Malerkotla district chiefs are expected to be announced later.
The list seems to bear the stamp of Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and Congress Legislature Party (CLP) leader Partap Singh Bajwa, with most of the newly appointed district chiefs considered to be their loyalists. The reshuffle is being viewed as a significant boost for Warring, who has recently faced criticism from internal detractors seeking his replacement.
The rival faction led by former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Pargat Singh, and Khushaldeep Singh Dhillon didn’t have a major say in the rejig.
While several district presidents appointed by Warring in 2022 have been retained, many others have been replaced as part of the party’s restructuring exercise. The Congress high command and Punjab in-charge, general secretary, Bhupesh Baghel, seem to have largely backed Warring’s recommendations and decided to give prominent space to sitting MLAs and ex-MLAs in the list.
For the Amritsar Rural, Congress has appointed AICC secretary Sukhwinder Singh Danny Bandala, a prominent Dalit leader, while Raja Warring loyalist Saurabh Maddan has been named as the new president of Amritsar Urban.
Among the 12 districts where the Congress has made leadership changes are Amritsar Urban and Rural, Bathinda Rural, Fatehgarh Sahib, Fazilka, Hoshiarpur, Moga, Mohali, Pathankot, Patiala Rural, Sangrur, and Tarn Taran. In Tarn Taran, Rajbir Singh Bhullar has been appointed the new district president, replacing the previous incumbent.
The party has also appointed Kamal Kishore Sharma as the DCC chief for Mohali, overruling the preferences of both Warring and Channi, who reportedly had differences regarding the Mohali seat.
Jalandhar Urban and Jalandhar Rural, from where the Channi is MP, both the district presidents are retained.
“It seems Raja Warring, along with Sukhjinder Randhawa, had their way in appointing Barindermeet Pahra for Gurdaspur and Panna Lal Mahajan for Pathankot, whereas Warring adjusted his loyalists by roping in other senior leaders in their respective districts. The Faridkot, Fazilka, Mukatsar presidents are considered his loyalists,” said a Congress leader, who didn’t wish to be named. Overall, Warring’s camp has emerged stronger in most of the regions in the state.
Raja Warring denied any one-upmanship. “The high command has appointed observers, and the list was finalised after due consultations. Now, the team is geared up for the forthcoming assembly elections of 2027,” he said, adding that there is no factionalism in the Congress’ state unit.
In another key decision, the party has appointed two more secretaries Hina Kawre and Suraj Thakur to assist Bhupesh Baghel in managing party affairs in the state.
List of 27 district presidents
Amritsar Rural: Sukhwinder Singh Danny Bandala
Amritsar Urban: Saurabh Maddan
Barnala: Kuldeep Singh Kala Dhillon
Bathinda Urban: Pritam Singh Kotbhai
Bathinda Rural: Rajan Garg
Faridkot: Navdeep Singh Brar
Fatehgarh Sahib: Surinder Singh
Fazilka: Harpreet Singh Sandhu
Ferozepur: Kulbir Singh Zira
Gurdaspur: Barindermeet Singh Pahra
Hoshiarpur: Daljit Singh
Jalandhar Urban: Rajinder Beri
Jalandhar Rural: Hardev Singh Laddi
Kapurthala: Balwinder Singh
Khanna: Lakhveer Singh Lakkha
Ludhiana Rural: Major Singh Mullapur
Ludhiana Urban: Sanjeev Talwar
Moga: Hari Singh Khai
Mohali: Kamal Kishore Sharma
Muktsar: Sukhdeep Singh Bittu
Pathankot: Panna Lal Bhatia
Patiala Rural: Gurdarshan Kaur Randhawa
Patiala Urban: Naresh Kumar Duggal
Ropar (Rupnagar): Ashwani Sharma
Sangrur: Jagdev Singh Gagga
SBS Nagar (Nawanshahr): Ajay Kumar
Tarn Taran: Rajbir Singh Bhullar
