Channi asserts stake amid reshuffle buzz in Cong

The akhand path bhog ceremony on the birthday of his 33-year-old son on Wednesday became the occasion for former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi to assert his stake in Punjab’s faction-ridden Congress.

The gathering of party heavyweights, including state Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, CLP leader Partap Singh Bajwa, Gurdaspur MP Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa, former CM Rajinder Kaur Bhattal, former Speaker KP Rana, MLAs Pargat Singh, Sukhbinder Sarkaria, Tript Rajinder Bajwa, Aruna Chaudhary, Rana Gurjeet Singh and Sukhpal Khaira is significant in light of the buzz of impending party reorganisation.

Channi, who was hosting the leaders, said seeing all leaders coming on his request was a welcome sign for the party that was united to take on the rivals.

Dismissing reports of it being a political gathering, he said it was a personal event and everyone came to bless his family.

“The united face of Congress leadership will shape the Punjab politics in coming days,” he said.

Warring said politics apart, leaders have personal relations and the gathering was a show of unity among the party leadership that was ready to take on AAP in the 2027 Assembly elections. Echoing same sentiments, Bajwa said the party was always united for the welfare of Punjab.

“The Congress is the only nationalist and secular party that can good governance in the state,” he added.

On the condition of anonymity, some of the leaders who had gathered on the occasion told The Tribune that the event asserted Channi’s growing clout in the state unit.

“It would be interesting to see as to how the gathering realigns the power equations in the state unit and how the party high command reacts to it,” said a senior leader while pointing out that apart from Bajwa, Channi was among the leaders who were in contention for the post of the state party chief.

All-India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary in-charge for Punjab Bhupesh Baghel had recently ruled out the change of guard in the state party unit.

A section of leaders claimed that the gathering could prove to be a blessing in disguise for the party as it could defuse simmering differences in the state unit ahead of the crucial 2027 Assembly elections.

Channi, who served as Punjab’s first Dalit Sikh Chief Minister for a short term ahead of the 2022 Assembly elections, continues to enjoy considerable influence in the Chamkaur Sahib region and retains a broad support base within the party cadre.