‘Warring’ Raja & Depleted Strength Of Unity: Congress ‘Not Picture Perfect’ Ahead Of Punjab Polls
‘Warring’ Raja & Depleted Strength Of Unity: Congress ‘Not Picture Perfect’ Ahead Of Punjab Polls Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: July 06, 2026, 15:36
‘Warring’ Raja & Depleted Strength Of Unity: Congress ‘Not Picture Perfect’ Ahead Of Punjab Polls Reported By, Edited By Last Updated: July 06, 2026, 15:36 IST While the top leadership may not change its decision under pressure, it's clear that the engine of the Congress in the state has derailed Rapid Read The one man who was conspicuous by his absence in the group photo was state Congress chief Raja Warring. (X) A picture put out by Sukhwinder Randhawa and Charanjit Singh Channi has made many in the party sit up and take notice. Titled ‘Unity is Strength’, it should make the high command of the Congress happy. But the picture was more about flexing muscles and less about unity. The one man who was conspicuous by his absence in the group photo was state Congress chief Raja Warring. Raja, incidentally, reposted the picture using the same line – ‘Unity in Strength’.
But this can be read as his attempt to ensure that the party stays together. In fact, the scenes being seen in the Punjab Congress are nothing new. In the state, the story of Congress has always been about “versus". In continuation of earlier meeting…Unity is Strength pic.twitter.com/VfT7vXCYYb — Charanjit Singh Channi (@CHARANJITCHANNI) July 6, 2026 It was Captain Amarinder Singh versus Sidhu which led to the Captain’s abrupt resignation and the entry of Charanjit Singh Channi as the CM face, much to the chagrin of Sidhu. The Channi experiment didn’t work and the result was a near wipe-out for the Congress in the state with AAP making its debut. But then Sidhu has almost opted out of party politics, but there is some movement there as per sources. The top leadership of the Congress had set up a committee as it wanted a change of guard. But post eight meetings and many voices attacking each other, and some MLAs close to Randhawa and Channi pitching for removal of Raja Warring as state chief, the result was – no change.
And this is where the beginning of revolt seems to be happening. The picture was more about dissent and less about unity. Sources say that Channi met Randhawa post two important meetings. Randhawa met Home Minister Amit Shah and Channi met Sidhu. So, is a third front within the Congress in Punjab developing? While the top leadership may not change its decision under pressure, it’s clear that the engine of the Congress in the state has derailed. Once again, the weakness in the top leadership stands exposed. It’s quite possible that someone else may win the race with the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) both wanting to come to power. Once again, like in 2021, when a Raja (Captain Amarinder Singh) became the fulcrum of dissent, this time too a Raja (Warring) is the reason why the Congress leaders in the state are unhappy. News18 Newsletter Handpicked stories, in your inbox A newsletter with the best of our journalism submit About the Author Pallavi Ghosh Pallavi Ghosh has covered politics and Parliament for 15 years, and has reported extensively on Congress, UPA-I and UPA-II, and has now included the Finance Ministry and Niti Aayog in her reportage.
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