Internal differences within the Punjab Congress have once again come into focus ahead of the upcoming Assembly elections and the latest trigger came during a Congress event in Patiala, where workers raised slogans in support of former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi in the presence of Punjab Congress president Raja Amarinder Singh 'Raja Warring'.
The chants of "Channi Zindabad" created a brief moment of confusion at the venue, later, the workers clarified that the programme was a Congress party event and not just Raja Warring's event, they said the slogans were meant to send a message to the Congress high command that many grassroots workers continue to support Channi.
The workers claimed that Channi worked for common people and party workers during his tenure as Chief Minister and they also expressed the view that the Congress could make a strong comeback in the next Punjab Assembly elections only under his leadership, however, this remains the opinion of the workers, and the Congress leadership has not issued any official response.
The incident comes at a time when differences between supporters of Channi and Raja Warring have become more visible, Punjab Congress in-charge Bhupesh Baghel has started a nine-day visit to the state to assess the party's organisational strength and gather feedback from workers.
After meeting party leaders, Baghel said he had submitted a report to the Congress high command, following which senior leaders were called for discussions. Channi later met Congress general secretary K.C. Venugopal and said Rahul Gandhi is the party's leader and he also stated that the Congress would fight the Assembly elections under Rahul Gandhi's leadership and added that "all is well" within the party.
Despite those remarks, leaders close to Channi have continued to argue that the Punjab Assembly election cannot be won under Raja Warring's leadership and they have demanded that Warring be removed as the Punjab Congress president.
Raja Warring has responded by saying that the post of state president is not the most important issue for him and he said he would remain with the Congress even if he was not given an election ticket. Warring also said modern elections require strong digital campaigns and praised senior leaders, including Partap Singh Bajwa and Charanjit Singh Channi, saying they are more capable than him.
As part of his visit, Baghel is meeting booth-level workers under the "Har Booth, Congress Mazboot" campaign and the campaign aims to strengthen the party's organisation before the elections. He has also announced plans to hold press conferences in every district while targeting both the BJP-led Central government and the Aam Aadmi Party government in Punjab.
Baghel also said Punjab could witness a five-cornered electoral contest and suggested that the Assembly election could be held earlier than scheduled and added that Congress has already entered "election mode" and that strong booth management will be important.