Rift comes to fore in Phillaur Cong

As Punjab gears up for the upcoming zila parishad and block samiti elections, signs of deepening factionalism within the Congress have become visible in the Phillaur Assembly constituency.

With political parties finalising their candidates and even striking local-level alliances in some regions, the Congress in Phillaur appears divided into two clear camps — one led by local MLA Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary and the other by MP Charanjit Singh Channi’s son Navjeet Singh.

MLA Chaudhary has been holding meetings in Phillaur to shortlist potential candidates. However, a parallel exercise took place on Monday in Goraya where Navjeet Singh convened a separate meeting, inviting aspirants for both zila parishad and block samiti seats from various villages, along with senior supporters and party workers.

Chaudhary was absent from Navjeet’s meeting as was the local block Congress president. Their absence has intensified speculation that the Congress in Phillaur is split into two factions. This situation has led to growing concerns within the party ranks regarding its preparedness and internal coordination for the upcoming elections.

When questioned about the visible rift, Navjeet denied any factionalism, stating that he had been meeting people across the nine Assembly segments in Jalandhar, who had elected his father as MP.

On being asked about alliances similar to the recent BSP-Congress understanding in Nakodar, Navjeet clarified that he had no information about any such arrangement in Phillaur and asserted that the Congress was strong enough in the constituency to contest independently.

However, despite these assertions, the absence of key Congress leaders from each other’s meetings suggests a widening organizational disconnect. Party workers fear that the ongoing division could weaken the Congress, affecting its performance in both the zila parishad and block samiti elections.

As both groups continue to operate independently, questions remain about how the Congress will project unity and mobilize grassroots workers effectively in the critical days leading up to the elections.