As soon as the election year has begun, infighting has erupted in the Punjab Congress. Seeing the situation escalating, Leader of the Opposition in the Lok Sabha, Rahul Gandhi, summoned the leaders to Delhi. The Punjab matter has become very complicated. Former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi has given the opposition an opportunity by questioning his own party. However, he later tried to clarify that he is a loyal soldier of the Congress. There are all sorts of speculations about Channi, including that he might join the BJP. Channi has his own grievances. The party offered him a position in the central organization, but he refused, expressing his desire to remain in state politics. Channi wanted to be made the state president and the CM face. But the high command paid no attention to this.
Following this, Channi questioned the party at an event. He said that all the positions in Punjab have been given to leaders from upper castes. No position has been given to his caste. In a way, he accused the Congress of being anti-backward castes. Channi belongs to the Dalit community. In fact, the Punjab Congress, like other states, is suffering from the disease of factionalism. The elections are to be held next year in February, but the struggle for the CM’s post has already begun. Today, there are three or four factions in Punjab. As a former CM, one faction belongs to Channi.
The second is that of the leader of the legislative party, Pratap Singh Bajwa. The third is that of the state president, Raja Warring. The fourth faction is that of the party general secretary in charge of Rajasthan, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa. The fifth faction was that of cricketer Navjot Singh Sidhu, who has currently been sidelined. All four factions were initially troubled by Sidhu. Everyone was trying to get rid of Sidhu by any means necessary. A statement by Sidhu’s wife, Navjot Kaur, led to his expulsion from the party. However, before being expelled, Navjot Kaur levelled serious allegations against Randhawa, significantly increasing his troubles. She accused him of selling tickets in Rajasthan. Randhawa has been in charge of Rajasthan for four years. Today, he appears to be caught up in factionalism in Rajasthan as well. There are several factions within the Rajasthan Congress. There are still three years until the elections, but the struggle for the Chief Minister’s chair has already begun. Randhawa is aligned with state president Govind Singh Dotasra. Sachin Pilot and Harish Chaudhary have their own political agendas. Former CM Ashok Gehlot is currently staying away from the factionalism. General Secretary Jitendra Singh and CLP leader Tikaram Juli are currently neutral. Randhawa has weakened in Punjab. Although, after a major split in the party in 2022, Randhawa was asked to become the Chief Minister. But senior party leader Ambika Soni spoiled his chances by proposing Channi’s name. Randhawa wanted to return to Punjab politics, but his pleas went unheard. It is believed that Randhawa is out of the race. The fight is between Channi, Bajwa, and Raja Warring. Both Bajwa and Raja Warring are Jat Sikhs. Channi’s question is why only Jats should hold both positions. What about the other castes? Bhupesh Baghel is the in-charge, but he has no real power. Rahul Gandhi has to make the final decision. Both Bajwa and Warring claim to be close to Rahul. Both are hopeful that the party will win the elections and that one of them will become the Chief Minister. However, the situation is quite the opposite. The Congress is hoping that the people of Punjab will change the government this time and that their turn will come. But that is not the case. The BJP is working on its own strategy. The ruling Aam Aadmi Party is gradually appearing stronger. The AAP could benefit from a triangular or multicornered contest. The Congress organization is weak at both the central and state levels. There is no single face with a strong hold across the entire state. Internal conflicts are making the Congress look even weaker. Attention will be focused on what happens after Rahul Gandhi’s directives on January 23rd.
