Channi-Warring rivalry erupts into poster war, clashes across Punjab ahead of polls
The Congress's organisational campaign, Har Booth Congress Mazboot, has descended into open factional warfare in Punjab, with rival poster campaigns, competitive sloganeering and physical clashes
The Congress's organisational campaign, Har Booth Congress Mazboot, has descended into open factional warfare in Punjab, with rival poster campaigns, competitive sloganeering and physical clashes between supporters of former chief minister and Jalandhar MP Charanjit Singh Channi and Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Instead of projecting unity ahead of the 2027 Punjab Assembly elections, the campaign has exposed deep divisions within the party. Workers from rival camps have disrupted organisational meetings with slogans, while some venues also witnessed physical confrontations, including chairs being hurled. Read Full Story The internal conflict has also drawn AICC general secretary in-charge of Punjab Bhupesh Baghel into the controversy. In Sri Muktsar Sahib, posters compared Baghel to British-era General Dyer, while others carried "Go Back Baghel" messages. Pro-Channi posters at the venue also demanded, "Raja-Baghel hatao, Congress bachao." The tensions stem from the Congress high command's decision earlier this year to retain Warring as the Punjab Congress president while appointing Channi as the campaign committee chairperson. Despite repeated appeals from senior leaders to maintain unity, discontent has continued within the organisation. Some Congress workers have openly described Warring as "compromised," while Warring has defended the public sloganeering, calling it a part of democracy.
He has also maintained that he will not step down from his post. On Wednesday, Warring said, "Soon you will see the party together." Baghel, meanwhile, told reporters in Moga that he would brief the party high command about his organisational meetings in Punjab. Party leaders have also hinted at conspiracies and suggested that sleeper cells within the party may be active. Political observers believe the infighting could hurt the Congress despite what they describe as a favourable electoral environment. Kuldeep Singh, a political analyst, said, "The Congress is damaging its winning prospects in a big way with this internal strife. Different factions believe a Congress victory is a foregone conclusion and that there will be a Congress chief minister. That belief is driving them to put all their energy behind their own leaders. The poster war, the sloganeering in favour of Channi, and the absence of Channi from Baghel's meetings show how serious this feud has become. Similar factional battles damaged the party in Rajasthan and Haryana." Another senior political observer, Manjit Singh, said, "Congress should have settled organisational matters beforehand rather than letting them linger.
The BriefWire