Rift in Punjab unit: Randhawa, Warring spar over ‘one family, one ticket’

Gurdaspur MP says winnability should be sole criterion at Khanna event; PPCC chief says following Rahul’s principle

The factional feud in the Punjab Congress intensified on Saturday, with senior leader and Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa taking a swipe at state party chief Amarinder Singh Raja Warring’s “one family, one ticket” formula for the 2027 assembly elections. The jibe drew a sharp response from Warring, who retaliated, saying he was only following his leader Rahul Gandhi, who has advocated the principle.

Jalandhar MP and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa during an event in Issru near Khanna. (Sourced)

Warring, in a speech in Ferozepur during the party’s grassroots outreach ‘Har Booth, Congress Mazboot’ campaign on August 4, had said that under his leadership the state unit would follow the principle of “one family, one ticket and 70% of tickets would go to youth, a move that had reportedly upset several senior leaders in the state unit.

Speaking at the annual political conference at Issru near Khanna, Randhawa questioned the rationale of restricting a party ticket to just one member of a family, saying winnability should be the overriding criterion.

“If people from a family are capable of winning, then not just two, even four tickets can be given,” Randhawa said in the presence of Jalandhar MP and former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi. The event, held to pay tributes to Karnail Singh Issru, who was killed in Goa on August 15, 1955, was organised without the involvement of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC).

Amid the simmering factional tussle, the ticket formula has emerged as the latest flashpoint in the larger contest over Warring’s leadership despite repeated assertions by the party leadership that efforts are underway to strengthen organisational unity ahead of the Punjab polls.

The infighting came to the fore when the Congress leadership on July 1 announced its decision to retain Warring as the state unit chief and appoint Channi as the chairperson of its campaign committee. A group of leaders, led by Channi, opposed the move and sought Warring’s removal. Channi’s supporters have also been seeking that he be projected as the chief ministerial face for the 2027 assembly polls.

During the party’s ‘Har Booth, Congress Mazboot’ campaign from July 31 to August 8, there was an open display of infighting with Channi’s supporters raising slogans in his favour and verbal clashes between supporters of Channi and Warring at several meetings.

“Go back Baghel” posters and slogans also surfaced, further widening the rift.

The high command has since rallied behind Warring. Punjab Congress affairs in-charge Bhupesh Baghel has also repeatedly reiterated that the party will not project any chief ministerial face in Punjab polls.

A senior party leader said the political tussle over the past three months has started to affect the party’s poll preparations.

“We have failed to corner the incumbent Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government on important issues. The rallies and programmes that should have been held against the AAP government are now being used to target one another,” the leader said, requesting anonymity.

The simmering feud comes at a point when Congress is trying to recover from its worst-ever performance in the 2022 state assembly elections, when it was reduced to just 18 seats in the 117-member assembly with a vote share of 22.98%, while the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) swept to power by winning 92 seats. The setback came in sharp contrast to the 2017 assembly elections, when the party secured a decisive mandate by winning 77 seats and ending the decade-long Shiromani Akali Dal-BJP government, while restricting the AAP to just 20 seats.