The Punjab Congress leadership tussle showed no signs of easing on Monday as leaders close to former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi skipped AICC Punjab in-charge Bhupesh Baghel's meeting and headed to Delhi to meet the Congress high command, sources said.
The development came even as the Punjab Congress posted a group photograph of senior leaders with Channi, projecting unity within the state unit.
Earlier, on July 3, Channi had said the Congress leadership had asked him to convey the views and aspirations of the people of Punjab to the party high command.
Meanwhile, former Ludhiana Congress MLA Simranjit Singh Bains dismissed reports of infighting. He said senior leaders, including Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Channi, Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and the Congress high command, would soon be seen together, reflecting the party's unity.
Talking to mediapersons, Bains said leaders visiting each other's homes should not be viewed as signs of factionalism. He accused the media of interpreting every meeting through the lens of internal divisions.
"I will go to Channi Sahab's house, Randhawa's house, and also to our state president's house. I am standing in front of you. To blow this out of proportion, that "so and so is sitting at so and so's house," this is not about any division in the party, which you are looking at with a lens of division; you are putting a "scanner" of division on it. All your discussions will come to a halt when Raja Waring, Sardar Charanjit Singh Channi, Sukhjinder Randhawa, and our entire high command are seen travelling in a single vehicle, arms in arms. We have cleared it. I have made it clear that all of us people, from Congress workers to leaders to the high command, are united," he said.
Earlier in the day, senior Congress leader and Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa shared a group photograph on X showing several senior Punjab Congress leaders believed to be aligned with the Channi camp.
The picture featured leaders like MLA Pargat Singh, Election Committee co-chairpersons Razia Sultana and Bharat Bhushan Ashu, among others. Randhawa captioned the post, "Unity is Strength." Channi later shared the same photograph on his social media account.
Notably, Punjab Congress president Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, Leader of Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa and MLA Sukhpal Singh Khaira were not seen in the group photograph. Later, however, the official Punjab Congress handle and Warring also shared the same picture with the caption, "Unity is Strength."
On July 4, Channi had convened a meeting at his residence in Morinda. Several senior leaders attended the gathering, where concerns were raised over Warring's leadership.
Leaders at the meeting urged the Congress high command to reconsider the recent organisational appointments in Punjab. They also backed Channi to lead the party into the next Assembly elections and expressed confidence that the Congress could return to power under his leadership.
Also read: Punjab Cong leaders unite against Warring ahead of Baghel's visit
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