Chandigarh: There is an old saying that riding a lion is easy, but one small mistake can turn the rider into the lion’s prey. Something similar appears to have happened with Bhupesh Baghel in the Punjab Congress.
The decision took time. Gandhi is expected to visit the state after the leadership issues are settled. Reports also suggest that the high command is looking to use Pilot’s appointment to bring the rival factions together ahead of the polls.
On July 1, the Congress announced that Warring would continue as state president and appointed Channi chairman of the campaign committee.
The plan is to present a united message to Congress leaders and workers before the election campaign gathers pace.
He retained his assembly seat during the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) wave and later won the Ludhiana Lok Sabha seat. Jat Sikh voters moved strongly against the Congress, and Channi lost from both seats he contested. His job was to strengthen the organisation and help the party prepare for the next assembly election. He has now been moved to Assam, with Sachin Pilot taking over as the Congress leader overseeing the party’s affairs in the state. The change came after months of open factionalism involving former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Punjab Congress President Amarinder Singh Raja Warring and several other senior leaders. Warring had replaced Navjot Singh Sidhu as Punjab Congress president after the party’s defeat in the assembly election and was nearing three years in the post. Warring and Congress Legislature Party leader Partap Singh Bajwa belong to the same caste. Baghel then began working with the state president to strengthen the organisation. Warring had several points in his favour. He had built the party’s district-level organisation and had a strong hold over a large number of district presidents. He had also earned Rahul Gandhi’s trust during his time as Youth Congress president. Baghel’s arrival also coincided with another important development. The Congress leadership had offered Channi the post of general secretary in charge of Himachal Pradesh. The dispute that followed eventually consumed much of the state unit. At the beginning of this year, the factional fight in the Punjab Congress became visible. Several state leaders wrote to the high command demanding that Channi, a prominent Dalit leader, be made Punjab Congress president. Party’s Naational President Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi held several meetings with senior leaders in the state. The party also formed a committee headed by Ajay Maken to study the situation and submit a report. The decision angered the former chief minister and several senior leaders, including Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Partap Singh Bajwa, Pargat Singh, Rana Gurjit and former MP Vijay Inder Singla. Baghel was sent to Chandigarh to speak to the unhappy leaders and try to bring the groups together. The effort did not work. His later visits to the staae became even more difficult. During meetings with booth-level workers, protests took place at several places. His problem was no longer simply that he had failed to settle the dispute. A section of the Punjab unit had started seeing him as a leader protecting Warring. The high command initially also did not want to change the state president. Warring has built the district-level structure and most district presidents are considered close to him. Replacing him at that stage could create another round of organisational disruption. The high command also considered the youth leader’s electoral record. He is one of the Congress’s prominent Hindu faces in Punjab and is regarded as being close to the central leadership. The initial plan ran into another problem. Channi began lobbying for the post. The high command then found that the group opposing Warring did not have a common choice for his replacement. That left the party with a difficult equation. Several senior leaders wanted Warring out, but they were not united behind one person who could replace him. Baghel was eventually moved to Assam and Pilot was brought in as Punjab in-charge. The decision came after the factional fight had continued through party programmes and organisational meetings. This is perhaps the biggest question in the entire episode. If the Maken committee’s report had recommended Channi, why did the Congress eventually choose to retain Warring? Party sources say the same Dalit factor that helped Channi also created reservations within the leadership. The latter became Punjab’s first Dalit chief minister. The state has one of the country’s largest Dalit populations. The expectation was that his elevation could consolidate the community votes for Congress. The election result did not show that consolidation. After the defeat, he stayed away from active politics for around a year and spent considerable time abroad. His return came with a major political win in the Jalandhar Lok Sabha election. His decision to reject the Himachal Pradesh assignment also did not go down well with the high command. His aggressive push for the Punjab Congress president’s post only strengthened those doubts. The party still could not ignore his position as one of its most prominent Dalit leaders. But he continued to oppose Warring’s leadership. The removal of Baghel pleased the Channi camp. Warring has faced criticism for his comments about former Union Home Minister Buta Singh. The issue has also complicated the Congress’s Dalit outreach in the state. Another senior Congress source suggested that the changes may not have ended with Baghel’s transfer. He inherits a problem that Baghel could not resolve. He has considerable political and organisational experience. His first task is expected to be meeting senior Punjab leaders individually and listening to each faction before taking the matter back to the high command. Pilot’s biggest test will be bringing the rival groups together without removing Warring. If the party eventually decides to change the state president, another problem awaits him. Bajwa is seen as one of the leading contenders for the post. Singla is also in the race. The former’s possible elevation would require Pilot to convince leaders such as Randhawa and others in the rival camp to accept him. That makes Pilot’s first few weeks particularly important. He has to avoid the situation Baghel found himself in, where the state unit began viewing the central appointee as part of one faction. The party is facing a multi-cornered contest involving the AAP, the Shiromani Akali Dal (SAD), the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) and the Waris Punjab De. Is it now the state president’s turn after the in-charge? How did Baghel fall victim to Punjab Congress politics? That was apparently the case with Bhupesh Baghel.
Because several senior leaders were unhappy with Warring’s working style and public statements, the leadership still began considering a change. He was therefore given charge of the campaign committee. Therefore, his camp now has one demand, the removal of Warring. The internal dispute has therefore become an organisational issue as well as an electoral one.
The former Chhattisgarh chief minister was brought in as the party’s Punjab in-charge in the beginning of 2025. The 2022 assembly election did not push him out of electoral politics either. His survival during the 2022 AAP wave and his later Lok Sabha victory from Ludhiana gave him political weight in Delhi. Reports say the high command is hoping Pilot can bring the rival camps together before the 2027 assembly election. Before the 2022 Punjab Assembly election, Rahul Gandhi had replaced Captain Amarinder Singh with Channi as chief minister. The Congress has little time left before Punjab votes in the 2027 assembly election. When the Congress high command appointed him as the in-charge for Punjab in early 2025, sources say he asked the party leadership if there was any plan to change the state leadership.
When Baghel was sent to the state, sources said he first asked the party leadership whether there was any plan to change the state leadership. The high command initially told Baghel to leave the leadership structure unchanged. The former chief minister, who was then a Lok Sabha MP from Jalandhar, told the party that he wanted to work in Punjab. They were told to avoid making their differences public. Feedback from party leaders and surveys led Maken’s committee to recommend Channi for the state president’s post, according to sources. Sources said these leaders privately told the party that they did not accept Warring’s leadership and would not even share a stage with him. When asked about the possibility of changing the state leadership, Baghel said, “This is not a game of dolls. Posters carrying “Baghel Go Back” also appeared. His close aides said that he had neither backed nor opposed any faction. Baghel’s argument, according to sources, was that changing the state president just before an election could damage the organisation. A decision had been taken in June to make Vijay Inder Singla the new state president, according to senior Congress sources. Sources further said that ongoing Enforcement Directorate (ED) cases involving the ex-chief minister and the lack of major action from him in relation to those cases created doubts among sections of the leadership about his political reliability. Sources close to him said he has now accepted that he is unlikely to become Punjab Congress president. “Half the journey is complete, and half is still left,” he said. Earlier reporting noted: It is said that one who rides a lion risks becoming the lion’s prey.
Earlier reporting noted: Explained: The Warring Equation And Baghel Paradox In Punjab Congress Explained: The Warring Equation And Baghel Paradox In Punjab Congress Explained: The Warring Equation And Baghel Paradox In Punjab Congress Earlier reporting noted: How did Baghel fall victim to Punjab Congress politics?
What led to Baghel’s exit, and could Raja Warring be next in line for a change? It has added to speculation within the Punjab unit about whether the next change could involve the state president.
