Channi Camps Against Punjab Congress Leadership Decision, Demands High Command Reconsider State Chief Appointment

Punjab Newsline | Morinda/Chandigarh

Punjab Congress witnessed fresh signs of internal dissent after former Chief Minister and Jalandhar MP Charanjit Singh Channi convened an emergency meeting of party leaders at his residence in Morinda following his exclusion from the race for the Punjab Congress president's post.

The meeting was attended by around 50 leaders, including three sitting MLAs, as senior party members openly expressed dissatisfaction over the Congress high command's decision to retain Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as the Punjab Congress chief.

Speaking after the meeting, MLA Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa said the leaders had urged Channi to take up the matter with the party high command. He stressed that the group had no conflict with the Congress leadership but was unhappy with the decision to continue Warring as state president. The leaders have requested the high command to reconsider its decision, saying they remain committed to bringing the Congress back to power in Punjab.

Among those present were MLAs Rana Gurjeet Singh and Kulwant Singh Sidhu, former Deputy Chief Minister Om Parkash Soni, former ministers Bharat Bhushan Ashu and Gurkirat Singh Kotli, several former MLAs, former MP Mohammad Sadiq, and Balkaur Singh.

The Congress high command recently decided to retain Raja Warring as the Punjab Congress president despite speculation that Channi would be given the responsibility ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections. The decision has triggered discontent within a section of the state leadership.

Meanwhile, senior Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa dismissed speculation surrounding his meeting with Union Home Minister Amit Shah. In a social media post, Randhawa said the meeting had been scheduled in advance and was held solely to discuss the deteriorating law-and-order situation in Punjab, rejecting attempts to give it a political interpretation.

Following the Morinda meeting, former Youth Congress president Barinder Dhillon announced that a committee of senior leaders had been constituted. He said the meeting concluded that the sentiments of party workers and leaders had not been reflected in the recent organisational decisions.

Former MLA Darshan Brar also voiced strong support for Channi, claiming that the Congress would struggle to form the next government in Punjab if Channi was not appointed as the state party chief. He alleged that Channi's name had been finalised for the post before the leadership decision was unexpectedly reversed in favour of Raja Warring.