Punjab Congress reshuffle: From Channi, Randhawa's silence to Tewari's cryptic post, is Congress heading towards 2022-like turmoil ?
PTC News Desk: Signs of rebellion have started to appear in the Punjab Congress after the recent structural reorganisation ahead of the 2027 Assembly elections.
Former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa have remained tight-lipped on publicly over the recent overhaul after being assigned new responsibilities. Meanwhile Channi has reportedly called a meeting at his residence at 11 am on Friday.
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Under the new structure, Charanjit Singh Channi will head the Campaign Committee while Vijay Inder Singla will chair the Election Management and Coordination Committee. Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa has been appointed chairperson of the Core Committee and Amar Singh will head the Manifesto Committee.
According to the sources, around 10-15 party leaders are dissatisfied with the newly formed team, especially with Raja Warring retained as party president.
A major reason for the discontent is the Congress tradition in Punjab, where, in the absence of a declared chief ministerial candidate, the state party president often becomes the frontrunner for the chief minister's post if the party wins a majority.
Meanwhile, Chandigarh MP Manish Tewari has also expressed displeasure over being sidelined. In a social media post, he remarked that he wished there were an antidote for the insecurity and inferiority complexes of individuals and institutions.
Reacting to a newspaper report on his exclusion from the newly announced state committees, Tewari wrote on X: "Wish I had an antidote for the insecurities of individuals and institutions! Having said that, INCIndia has given me enough over the past 45 years and I have also devoted my entire adult life in the service of the Indian National Congress over the decades. Que sera, sera. Whatever will be, will be."
है बड़ा कोई अवगुण उसमे जिसे कोई हुनर आवे I
Wish I had an antidote ( ਗਿੱਦੜ ਸਿੰਙੀ) for the insecurities of individuals and institutions!
Having said that @INCIndia has given me enough over the past 45 years and I have also devoted my entire adult life in the service of the… — Manish Tewari (@ManishTewari) July 2, 2026
The Congress has retained Amarinder Singh Raja Warring as president of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee and Pratap Singh Bajwa as the Leader of the Congress Legislature Party.
The party has also appointed Sukhwinder Singh Danny, Raj Kumar Verka and Sangat Singh Gilzian as working presidents of the Punjab Congress.
Meanwhile, Manish Tewari, a three-time Lok Sabha MP, currently represents Chandigarh and has previously represented the Anandpur Sahib and Ludhiana parliamentary constituencies in Punjab.
According to a statement issued by K. C. Venugopal, Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge approved all the appointments with immediate effect.
- With inputs from agencies
