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As the Punjab Assembly elections gully closer, the Indian National Congress, the main Opposition enactment successful the State, is formulating its electoral strategy successful a bid to presumption itself arsenic the superior challenger to the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP).
The enactment has been grappling with interior discord, and efforts to code it person gathered gait done a bid of meetings. In February this year, Congress person Rahul Gandhi, during his sojourn to Punjab, gave a stern connection to the State unit, asking leaders to enactment arsenic a “team”, days aft Congress person and erstwhile Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi called for “greater Dalit representation” successful the party, saying Dalits were not getting owed representation. The remarks brought interior differences wrong the enactment into nationalist view.
The three-member sheet comprising Ajay Maken, Meenakshi Natarajan, and Bhajan Lal Jatav, acceptable up by the Congress connected June 11 to measure and taxable a study connected the existent governmental concern successful Punjab, has held respective rounds of meetings successful New Delhi implicit the past 2 days. The sheet has met respective elder Congress leaders, including Leader of the Opposition Partap Singh Bajwa, erstwhile Deputy Chief Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Congress Working Committee subordinate Vijay Inder Singla, erstwhile Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, erstwhile State Congress main Shamsher Singh Dullo and Mr. Channi, among others.
Party sources indicated that a alteration successful the apical enactment of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) is besides nether discussion, keeping successful caput the complexities of caste, community, religion and determination considerations successful Punjab politics.
As the enactment precocious bid continues to measurement continuity nether incumbent PPCC president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring against imaginable alternatives specified arsenic Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, Partap Singh Bajwa oregon adjacent erstwhile Union Minister and existent Lok Sabha MP Manish Tewari, who is seen by immoderate leaders arsenic an experienced person with a cleanable image, the underlying connection from the fertile and record remains that the prime of enactment indispensable animate assurance among enactment workers arsenic the Congress prepares for the electoral contention ahead.
“Formulating an aboriginal electoral strategy and mounting up cardinal organisational committees to code burning nationalist issues are captious for the Congress enactment up of the upcoming assembly elections successful Punjab,” erstwhile Chief Minister Rajinder Kaur Bhattal told The Hindu on Wednesday (June 17, 2026).
Speaking astir the precocious command’s caller organisational reappraisal meetings successful New Delhi, Ms. Bhattal said, “While insignificant interior differences of sentiment beryllium successful each governmental organisation, the Congress enactment remains a beardown unit connected the crushed and a superior ray of anticipation for the radical of Punjab. The enactment precocious bid is engaged successful a antiauthoritarian process to recognize everyone’s intentions, measure nationalist sentiment and place the halfway issues.”
The elder person emphasised that she had powerfully urged the enactment enactment to instantly represent functional bodies, specifically a manifesto committee, a coordination committee, a run committee and a dedicated interior deliberation tank, to actively instrumentality up burning nationalist issues that different governmental players are presently ignoring.
Addressing persistent speculation regarding imaginable structural overhauls and enactment changes wrong the PPCC, Ms. Bhattal noted that structural adjustments impact overmuch much than simply changing the State president oregon the Congress legislative enactment leader.
“Deciding wherever to utilise which person is the sole prerogative of the precocious command, which has entree to aggregate autarkic feedback agencies. My proposal to them is to absorption wholly connected nationalist cognition and place genuine vote-catchers. It is not astir a numbers crippled of who tin bring 10 radical to a meeting, but astir evaluating which beforehand a person tin execute champion connected to efficaciously seizure votes,” she said, advocating a strategical blend of youthful vigor and seasoned acquisition successful the run-up to the polls, which are owed successful aboriginal 2027.
