Congress high command holds parleys on Punjab factionalism, Himachal Cabinet expansion

The Congress high command on Thursday held discussions to address the factional feud within its Punjab unit and to deliberate on a possible Cabinet expansion in Himachal Pradesh.

At a meeting held at party president Mallikarjun Kharge's residence, Leader of Opposition in the Lok Sabha Rahul Gandhi and general secretary (organisation) K.C. Venugopal are understood to have taken stock of the leadership tussle in Punjab. The development comes ahead of a proposed political yatra by Mr. Gandhi in the state, which is slated to go to polls early next year. Sources indicated that the dates for the yatra are likely to be finalised only after the party resolves the internal discord.

The friction stems from the dissatisfaction of former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, a prominent Dalit leader, who was overlooked for the posts of PCC chief and Chief Ministerial face. Mr. Channi and his supporters have publicly aired their grievance that Scheduled Castes, who form the largest share of Punjab's electorate, lack adequate representation in the party's scheme of things.

In a recent organisational rejig in July, the high command appointed Mr. Channi as the chairman of the campaign committee while retaining Amrinder Singh Raja Warring as the PCC chief. This decision triggered open rebellion from senior Jat Sikh leader Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, who is the AICC in-charge for Rajasthan.

To pacify the dissenting leaders, AICC general secretary in-charge of Punjab Bhupesh Baghel held a series of meetings on Thursday with Mr. Randhawa, Mr. Warring, and Leader of Opposition in the Assembly Partap Singh Bajwa. Sources suggest the party is likely to urge Mr. Channi to spearhead the poll campaign, noting that the Congress's aggressive stance against the recent 'shuddhikaran' episode in Uttarakhand—which Mr. Gandhi termed as a practice of untouchability—could help assuage his concerns.

In a separate engagement, the top leadership met Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu and the state PCC chief to discuss a potential Cabinet reshuffle. Additionally, Mr. Venugopal met Chandigarh leaders, including Lok Sabha member Manish Tewari and former Union Minister Pawan Bansal, to deliberate on the 'Sangathan Srijan Abhiyan', the party's grassroots organisational strengthening programme.