Chandigarh: Amid continuing factionalism in the Punjab Congress, newly appointed state in-charge Sachin Pilot has clarified that the party will not project a chief ministerial candidate before the 2027 Assembly elections. He said the Congress would contest the polls under a collective leadership model, with Rahul Gandhi leading the campaign, while the choice of chief minister would be made only after the party secures a majority.The statement comes at a time when supporters of former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi have been demanding that he be declared the Congress’s chief ministerial face for the 2027 elections.If the Congress sticks to this position, it would mark a departure from its approach in previous Assembly polls. The party projected Capt Amarinder Singh as its chief ministerial candidate in 2012 and 2017, while in 2022 it went to the polls with then chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi as its CM face.Divisions persistHopes of a truce within the Punjab Congress may have risen with the appointment of Sachin Pilot as the party’s new state in-charge, but recent political activity suggests the factional divide remains intact. In the days following Pilot’s arrival, rival camps led by former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring have continued to hold separate protests, meetings and outreach programmes, underlining the lack of cohesion within the state unit.The Congress high command replaced Bhupesh Baghel with Pilot in an apparent bid to ease tensions between the Channi and Warring camps. While both factions publicly welcomed the move, their actions on the ground indicate that differences remain unresolved.Channi described Pilot’s appointment as a move that had created “new hope” in Punjab. Warring, meanwhile, said party leaders would soon come together on a common platform to take on their political opponents. However, a series of separate programmes organised by the two camps in recent days has underscored that unity remains a work in progress.The parallel activities come at a time when the Congress is attempting to corner the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) government over issues such as employees’ grievances, law and order, and the death of Gulzar Singh, who allegedly consumed poison amid claims linked to the drug problem in his village and his son’s addiction. Rather than mounting a coordinated offensive, leaders from the two camps have been pursuing separate political engagements, potentially diluting the party’s attack on the ruling dispensation.On September 7, Channi, along with leaders aligned with him, led a Congress protest in Jalandhar targeting the BJP and RSS over an alleged “purification” ritual at a venue in Haldwani. The Channi camp did not participate in a protest called by Warring in Chandigarh the following day. Separately, Warring visited Mohanjeet Singh at a Sangrur hospital. Mohanjeet had allegedly been tortured by Punjab Police after showing a black flag at an event. Warring also facilitated a phone conversation between Rahul Gandhi and Mohanjeet.On Thursday, Channi, along with Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Sher Singh Ghubaya, Tripat Rajinder Singh Bajwa and Barindermeet Singh Pahra, met Punjab Governor Gulab Chand Kataria and sought action against finance minister Harpal Singh Cheema over Gulzar Singh’s death. Warring was not part of the delegation.
