Chandigarh: Closing ranks after weeks of infighting, the Punjab Congress on Wednesday decided to try to kick-start its campaign for the 2027 assembly elections “this month itself” by either launching a statewide bus yatra or a series of rallies to project unity.The mode of outreach, however, will be finalised after consultations with the party’s central leadership. The move was finalised at the first meeting of the party’s newly constituted election-related committees, which also resolved to seek time from Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge, Leader of Opposition Rahul Gandhi and Congress general secretary Priyanka Gandhi Vadra before launching the campaign.The meeting, convened by Punjab affairs in-charge Bhupesh Baghel at party headquarters in New Delhi, assumed significance as it brought together the party’s state leadership for the first time since the recent organisational tussle over the continuation of state president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring. Attended by Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal, the meeting was also the first since the party announced its election-related committees on July 1. After the meeting, Baghel said, “We are trying to begin the campaign this month itself, keeping senior leadership’s schedule in mind, as Parliament is also in session .”He added “Team Punjab ” would fight the elections unitedly.Sunil Kanugolu, who is overseeing the party’s electoral strategy for Punjab, presented a detailed report based on ground-level assessments and emphasised the need to launch the party’s election campaign immediately. The report outlined a roadmap for the campaign, focusing on strengthening the organisation and improving its electoral prospects. According to sources, the presentation also stressed the need to curb factionalism, which has long been viewed as one of its major weaknesses. After the meeting, Warring said all the party leaders were united and described them as “the crown of head”.Sources said Venugopal urged all leaders to work collectively. The state functionaries, in turn, assured party leadership of contesting the elections unitedly, setting aside their differences. Sources said Kanugolu also held a separate meeting with Punjab Congress leaders.Punjab leader of opposition Partap Singh Bajwa described the meeting as extensive. Commenting on the recent differences, Bajwa said, “No one in the family stays angry; they always remain together.”The meeting was attended by Warring, campaign committee chairman and former CM Charanjit Singh Channi, core committee chairman and former deputy CM Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, manifesto committee chairman Dr Amar Singh, Bajwa and other members of the newly constituted committees.
