Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring on Tuesday maintained that Charanjit Singh Channi has not distanced himself from the party, after the former Chief Minister skipped a key party meeting.
AICC General Secretary in charge of Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel, held a key meeting with state Congress leaders. Along with Channi, Congress MP and former Deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa also skipped the meet.
Warring said that grievances within the Punjab unit of the party will be resolved with dialogue and the entire Punjab Congress will be united soon.
He said, "Two senior leaders, Charanjit Singh Channi and Sukhjinder Randhawa, will also be meeting AICC General Secretary In-Charge of Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel. Channi is not distancing himself from the party; as I said, he is a key leader of ours."
Further, refuting the claims of a major rift within the Punjab Congress ranks, he said no party MLA or MP switched sides like seven AAP MPs who switched to the BJP in the Rajya Sabha.
"Six Rajya Sabha members from the AAP left the party. Not a single person from our side left; not even a single candidate who had contested an election left us. There may be some minor grievances, but through dialogue and deliberation, things get resolved. You will soon see the entire Congress united," Raja Warring said.
Describing the party meeting ahead of the 2027 Legislative Assembly elections, he said that Bhupesh Baghel met leaders individually and the party is seeking suggestions from all senior leaders. The State Congress chief also said that the party is focusing on booth-level management.
"The election is just six or seven months away, and suggestions are being sought through one-on-one meetings with all the senior leaders. AICC General Secretary In-Charge of Punjab, Bhupesh Baghel, is meeting them individually. We are focusing on booth-level management, 'booth sevaks' (volunteers), and the functioning of our mandals and committees," Raja Warring said.
Speaking to reporters in Chandigarh today, Punjab Congress in-charge Baghel maintained, "There is no resentment among anyone."
Channi, along with a group of loyalists, is reportedly in Delhi to lodge their complaints over the recent leadership shuffle in the party's state unit. This comes as the party starts preparing for the 2027 assembly elections.
Prior to Baghel's arrival, senior Congress leader and Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa shared a photograph online featuring Charanjit Singh Channi alongside other leaders. Those featured in the photograph included MLAs Barindermeet Singh Pahra, Pargat Singh, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa, former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu, and election committee co-chairpersons Razia Sultana and former MLA Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon, among others. Prominent absentees in the picture included PPCC chief Warring, Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa, and MLA Sukhpal Khaira.
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