Bhupesh Baghel Visits Punjab to Mediate Congress Leadership Rift

All India Congress Committee General Secretary Bhupesh Baghel began a five-day tour of Punjab on July 7, 2026, to strengthen the party organization for the 2027 Assembly elections. The visit served as a damage-control mission following a leadership overhaul on July 1, during which the party high command retained Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as state chief and Partap Singh Bajwa as Leader of the Opposition. This decision alienated former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, who expected the state chief role.

Tensions escalated on July 4 when Channi held a meeting in Morinda demanding Warring's removal. During Baghel's visit to Chandigarh, Channi and MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa boycotted key meetings, reportedly camping in New Delhi to seek an audience with Rahul Gandhi. Randhawa further signaled the rift by sharing a photograph of a Channi-led faction that excluded Warring and Bajwa.

While Bhupesh Baghel and Raja Warring publicly denied any resentment, citing the absences as personal travel, other senior leaders offered a different view. Shamsher Singh Dullo claimed that "uncultured people have entered" the party and that the visit was intended to instil discipline. Despite the internal strife, Baghel positioned the Congress as the only viable alternative to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party, which he accused of failing on law and order and financial stability. As part of the organizational ramp-up, the party appointed Sukhwinder Singh Danny and Raj Kumar Verka as Working Presidents and Shubham Devgan as Punjab Youth Congress president.