No End to Factional Rift in Congress: Baghel Fails to Pacify Rebels as Channi Faction Draws Battle Lines..Tirchhi Nazar by Baljit Balli
The Climax of Congress's Infighting!!
What Message Is Bhupesh Baghel Taking Back for Rahul Gandhi?
The week-long power struggle within the Punjab Congress appeared to reach its climax today when a group of leaders led by former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi conveyed a clear and unequivocal message to Congress observer Bhupesh Baghel: they are unwilling to work under the current state leadership.
While reiterating that they want the Congress to return to power in Punjab, the leaders made it equally clear that they do not believe this can happen under the leadership of Raja Warring.
Although Bhupesh Baghel, after the meeting, attempted to project an image of unity by suggesting that "all is well" within the Congress and that everyone would abide by the High Command's decision, the reality inside the meeting was quite different.
According to those present, more than 90 leaders from different levels of the party, assembled under Charanjit Singh Channi's leadership, strongly argued that a change in leadership is essential if the Congress hopes to win the next Assembly elections.
The meeting held at the Sector-4 Chandigarh residence of senior Congress MP Rana Gurjeet Singh carried even greater political significance than the earlier gathering at Channi's residence in Morinda. Though its deliberations remained confined to the meeting room and to Bhupesh Baghel himself, the political message that emerged was far more forceful.
According to information available with me and the Babushahi team, the leaders who met Channi collectively echoed the same sentiment later voiced publicly by senior Congress leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa: "We cannot accept a leader who believes in compromise." His remarks were clearly aimed at Raja Warring, who has been accused by several party leaders of not taking a sufficiently aggressive stand against the Bhagwant Mann-led AAP government.
To reinforce this allegation, Balkaur Singh, father of the late singer Sidhu Moosewala, reportedly showed Bhupesh Baghel photographs of Raja Warring taken after Moosewala's murder, presenting them as evidence to support his argument.
Most leaders refrained from making open statements either during or after the meeting, carefully avoiding the label of a "rebel faction."
However, their determination remained unmistakable. In fact, many of them claimed that the majority of Punjab Congress workers and leaders stand with them, insisting that their movement should not be dismissed as merely another faction within the party.
The central conclusion emerging from the developments is that the formula for reorganising the Punjab Congress and its leadership, reportedly finalised by the party High Command under Rahul Gandhi's guidance, has failed to win the support of a significant section of the state leadership. In this context, Randhawa's remark that "changes do happen" carries considerable political significance.
On the other hand, Raja Warring chose not to respond sharply to the dissent. Instead, displaying the restraint of an experienced politician, he adopted a diplomatic tone, attempting to portray the rebellion as temporary and expressing confidence that all leaders would ultimately abide by the High Command's decision.
Nevertheless, today's meeting between the dissident leaders and the party observer has made one thing abundantly clear: the battle for leadership within the Punjab Congress is far from over, and its eventual outcome remains uncertain.
Perhaps the most surprising—and unfortunate—aspect of the situation is that, just months before the Punjab Assembly elections, while every other political party is busy preparing for the electoral battle, the Congress continues to be consumed by an internal struggle for power.
July 11, 2026
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-1783778600610.jpg "Baljit Balli")
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Baljit Balli, Editor-in-Chief, Babushahi News Network
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