Rift deepens in Punjab Congress as leaders rally behind Charanjit Singh Channi
Several Punjab Congress leaders on Wednesday shared a photograph with Jalandhar MP Charanjit Singh Channi with the caption "Saara Punjab Channi Naal" ("entire Punjab with
Several Punjab Congress leaders on Wednesday shared a photograph with Jalandhar MP Charanjit Singh Channi with the caption "Saara Punjab Channi Naal" ("entire Punjab with Channi"), as the rift in the party's state unit continued to deepen. The social media post came as Congress general secretary in-charge of Punjab Bhupesh Baghel met AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal in Delhi and submitted a report on factionalism in the state unit. Read Full Story The latest show of support for Channi comes amid discontent within a section of the Punjab Congress over the party's decision to retain Amrinder Singh Raja Warring as the state president. Channi, a former Punjab chief minister, is reportedly upset with the leadership over the decision.
The state unit has been hit by infighting since July 1, when the Congress retained Warring as Punjab unit president and appointed Channi as chairperson of the campaign committee. Among those who shared the picture with Channi on Facebook were Brinder Dhillon, Smit Singh and Isherpreet Singh Sidhu. Brinder and Smit had unsuccessfully contested the 2022 Assembly polls from the Rupnagar and Amargarh constituencies. Isherpreet is the president of the Students' Union of India, Punjab. Channi also met Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa at his residence on Wednesday. Bajwa had recently returned from Delhi after meeting Venugopal. A section of leaders led by Channi and Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has opposed the move to retain Warring and has sought his removal, while demanding that Channi be made the party president in Punjab.
The dissensions had prompted the party leadership to send Baghel to meet leaders aligned with both Warring and Channi during his si day visit to Punjab. However, no truce could be worked out between the two sides. During his visit, Baghel said the party's decision could not be changed and that revoking it was no small matter for the leadership. On July 11, at a meeting at the house of MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh, the dissident leaders told Baghel that Warring was unacceptable to them as Punjab Congress chief. The faction is said to have around 80 leaders, several of them MLAs. The Channi camp has so far secured the support of Partap Singh Bajwa, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Rana Gurjeet Singh, Bharat Bhushan Ashu, Aruna Chaudhary, OP Soni, Tript Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Pargat Singh.
With Punjab set to go to Assembly polls early next year, the Congress continues to face internal divisions, with Channi's supporters stepping up their backing even as the party leadership stands by its decision to retain Warring as state president. Ends
The BriefWire