Following several weeks of meetings and speculation about leadership changes in Punjab, the Congress leadership on Wednesday announced a new set of election committee appointments. The move was seen as an effort to balance competing groups while keeping Amrinder Singh Raja Warring as state party chief and Partap Singh Bajwa as Leader of the Opposition. Warring thanked the central leadership for creating a broad team and said all members must work to defeat the Aam Aadmi Party government in the 2027 assembly elections. The appointments, issued by AICC general secretary K C Venugopal, aim to accommodate different factions in the divided state unit. Former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi was named chairperson of the campaign committee, Vijay Inder Singla will head the election management committee, Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa will lead the core committee, and Amar Singh will chair the manifesto committee. Three new working presidents were also named. The distribution of posts follows the party’s usual approach of giving roles to leaders from various groups without altering the top structure. Warring and Bajwa remain in place, while Channi and others receive prominent positions ahead of the 2027 polls. Factional divisions have persisted since 2021. The party’s weak results in recent elections increased pressure for change, leading to the appointment of observers in June. Talks continued through the month, yet the high command ultimately chose to retain the current setup rather than make major shifts.
