Congress is Punjab's only hope, says Bhupesh Baghel amid 2027 push
Congress general secretary and Punjab in-charge Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday accused the Bhagwant Mann government of pushing Punjab into debt and a worsening drugs problem
Congress general secretary and Punjab in-charge Bhupesh Baghel on Wednesday accused the Bhagwant Mann government of pushing Punjab into debt and a worsening drugs problem, and said people in the state see hope only in the Congress. Addressing the party's "Har Booth, Congress Mazboot" programme, he said his visits across 12 districts had drawn an overwhelming response from people who want the Congress back in power. Read Full Story Baghel said his political experience told him that people in Punjab now see the Congress as the only option to replace the Aam Aadmi Party government, which he alleged had "failed people's promises and expectations". He also claimed the party's rivals were uneasy over the response to Congress programmes, while Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring said the turnout had exceeded expectations. Speaking at the programme in Moga, the former Chhattisgarh chief minister alleged, "The Bhagwant Mann government has drowned Punjab into debt and drugs," and said the state's economy and law and order had collapsed.
He claimed that people did not feel safe in Punjab and alleged that gangsters were killing people without fear of the law. He also said Punjab had never seen such lawlessness before. Baghel underlined the need to strengthen the Congress and said that under the party's national-level "Sangathan Sirjan Programme", efforts were being made to build the organisation at the grassroots and booth levels. He congratulated the Punjab Congress leadership for appointing booth level agents in all booths across the state. Telling workers that they were the flag bearers of the Congress, he said the party's real strength depended on them and added that no big leader could win an election without grassroots support. He also took a dig at the AAP and the BJP, alleging that both had tried to disturb and distract Congress programmes. Baghel claimed that AAP had put up hoardings asking him to "go back" and said these were signs of panic among the Congress' rivals.
Warring, speaking at the event, expressed satisfaction over what he called the "massive response" to the party's programmes. He said these events were never planned on such a scale, but people had joined on their own. According to him, this was why some people, "both outside and inside the party started feeling jittery", and tried to disrupt the programmes. He added that any attempt to disrupt them only showed that opponents were unnerved by their success. The Punjab Congress has been grappling with factionalism even as the leadership has repeatedly said it is working to strengthen organisational unity ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections. The differences came into the open on July 1 when the party retained Warring as state unit chief and appointed Jalandhar MP Channi as chairperson of its campaign committee. A section of leaders led by Channi has opposed Warring's continuation as Punjab Congress president and sought his removal.
The BriefWire