Chandigarh: Amid sustained pressure from a section of Punjab Congress leaders seeking a change in the state leadership, AICC general secretary in charge of Punjab Bhupesh Baghel on Thursday once again ruled out any change in the existing organisational structure, saying the focus was on expanding the committees already announced and bringing more leaders into the party’s election preparations.
“There will be no changes now. Only expansion will take place,” Baghel said, making it clear that the existing committees would be enlarged by adding more members and new committees could also be constituted as part of the party’s organisational preparations. The development comes against the backdrop of an increasingly bitter power struggle within Punjab Congress, particularly between a group of senior leaders associated with former chief minister and Congress MP Charanjit Singh Channi and the camp led by Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring.
The differences became more pronounced after Congress, on July 1, retained Warring as the PPCC president while announcing several election-related committees. The camp of leaders backing Channi, including senior figures such as Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Rana Gurjeet Singh and Bharat Bhushan Ashu, has since expressed dissatisfaction with the organisational arrangements and pressed the party high command to address their concerns. They have been seeking the removal of Warring and a greater role for Channi.
Baghel, however, dismissed the suggestion that senior Punjab leaders meeting the party high command were doing so merely to lodge complaints. Meanwhile, Congress is working on a proposal for a programme involving senior party leader Rahul Gandhi in Punjab, with the plan awaiting his approval. Baghel said a proposal had been submitted to Rahul Gandhi and that the party was waiting for his approval. As part of the tentative plan, Rahul Gandhi may begin a bus journey from Amritsar after paying obeisance at Golden Temple. He is expected to travel with senior Punjab Congress leaders in an apparent effort to bring them onto a common platform.
According to party sources, the proposed first phase of the journey could cover the stretch from Amritsar to Hussainiwala, a distance of around 135 kilometres, and pass through approximately 25 to 30 Assembly constituencies. If finalised, the programme could provide Congress an opportunity to publicly project unity among its senior leaders at a time when factionalism has emerged as one of the party’s biggest challenges in Punjab.
Congress leadership has held several rounds of meetings in recent weeks in an effort to ease tensions within the state unit and resolve differences among senior leaders. Party assessments have also underlined the need to contain infighting, which has repeatedly hurt Congress in Punjab.
The internal rift became particularly visible during ‘Har Booth, Congress Mazboot’ campaign, when Baghel and Warring travelled across different parts of the state. Supporters of rival factions raised slogans at some programmes, while protests against Baghel were also witnessed. At some meetings, tensions between supporters of different groups reportedly escalated into scuffles. The infighting later spilled into a poster war, with posters portraying Baghel as General Dyer appearing at some places, while separate posters targeting Warring also surfaced.
Courtesy : TOI
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