Chandigarh: The internal rift in the Punjab Congress has widened ahead of the Assembly elections, with former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi’s faction boycotting a meeting convened by the party’s Punjab in-charge Bhupesh Baghel in Chandigarh.
According to party sources, Baghel assured leaders during the meeting with the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) office-bearers and district presidents that there would be no change in the state leadership.
The Channi camp stayed away from the meeting and later claimed that Baghel had misled the Congress high command about the political situation in Punjab.
Leaders aligned with Channi alleged that the central leadership decided to retain Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as Punjab Congress president because it was not given an accurate assessment of the ground situation.
A leader from the Channi camp said the group’s decision to boycott the meeting stemmed from its lack of confidence in Baghel.
“We have no expectations from him, so there was no purpose in meeting him,” the leader said.
Sources said Channi has travelled to Delhi along with senior Congress leaders, including MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Pargat Singh, where they are expected to meet the party high command.
The Channi camp is also reportedly carrying a dossier highlighting Raja Warring’s public statements as it seeks a review of the Congress leadership structure in Punjab ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
