Punjab Congress Infighting Escalates As Charanjit Singh Channi Visits Suspended Leader

The factional fault lines within the Punjab Congress widened on Friday after former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi visited the residence of suspended former MLA Madan Lal Jalalpur, in a move seen as a direct political message to the party's state president, Amarinder Singh Raja Warring.

The visit came hours after Jalalpur publicly accused Warring of targeting him for raising concerns over the party's functioning, further exposing the growing divide within the state unit despite repeated interventions by the Congress high command.

Speaking to reporters after meeting Jalalpur, Channi questioned the party leadership's decision to suspend senior leaders instead of addressing their concerns.

"This is not a fight for any post or the party presidency. It is about Punjab's issues. The leadership should carry everyone along. Our real fight is against those who come from Delhi to rule Punjab," Channi said, in remarks that were seen as a veiled attack on the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government while also signalling dissent within the Congress.

Jalalpur, who was suspended from the party, alleged that he was singled out merely for highlighting the need to unite the organisation.

"I never used any disrespectful words against KC Venugopal or Bhupesh Baghel. Both are respected leaders. I only said the Congress graph in Punjab has declined since Raja Warring was reappointed as state president. Why was action taken only against me? I was not even issued a show-cause notice," he said.

However, addressing a party workers' meeting in Patiala in the presence of Congress' Punjab in-charge Bhupesh Baghel, Warring defended the disciplinary action, saying Jalalpur had not been suspended recently but much earlier after allegedly making objectionable remarks against the party's central leadership, including the party's general secretary KC Venugopal.

The day's developments also laid bare the competing power centres within the Punjab Congress. While Warring shared the stage with Baghel at the official party meeting in Patiala, Channi's meeting with Jalalpur drew the presence of several senior Congress leaders, including Patiala MP Dharamvira Gandhi and former minister Bharat Bhushan Ashu. Significantly, both leaders skipped Warring's programme, lending further weight to perceptions of deepening factionalism.

The political embarrassment for the state leadership intensified later in the day at Samana, where Congress workers raised slogans against Warring during a party function.

The latest episode comes despite efforts by the Congress high command in recent weeks to paper over differences within the Punjab unit. Instead of subsiding, the internal rebellion appears to be gathering momentum, with dissident leaders increasingly taking their grievances into the public domain.

With the Assembly elections drawing closer, the widening divide threatens to overshadow the party's attempts to mount a united challenge against the ruling AAP government.