Congress accepts resignations of key party leaders post-Ludhiana bypoll debacle

The Congress on Thursday accepted resignations of its three senior Punjab leaders from crucial party posts, paving the way for the reconstitution of its state unit.

Punjab Congress working president Bharat Bhushan Ashu, vice-presidents Pargat Singh and Kushaldeep Singh Dhillon had tendered their resignations from the positions following the party’s Ludhiana Assembly bypoll debacle. Ashu, who was the Congress candidate, had lost to AAP’s Sanjeev Arora by over 10,000 votes, in an election marred by factionalism in the party.

Information regarding the acceptance of the resignations was shared on X (formerly Twitter) by All-India Congress Committee (AICC) general secretary incharge for Punjab Bhupesh Baghel.

“The party expresses its gratitude for the services of all three leaders in their respective roles and wishes them a bright future,” he said.

Internal report blames factionalism for defeat

Meanwhile, a report on the Ludhiana bypoll was submitted to the top party leadership by the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee.

According to sources, it blamed factionalism among other factors for the defeat.

Though Punjab Congress chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring did not share details of the report, he said it had been sent to AICC general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal.

A senior party leader said the Congress had an upper hand during the initial phase of the campaign but it gradually lost its way due to factionalism in the party.

The report is learnt to have pointed out that the election management was being handled by a few select leaders while the state top leadership was kept out of it. It said during the campaign, some leaders were inducted into the party without the approval of the high command, due to which the equations within the party deteriorated, leading to the bypoll debacle.

Senior party leaders also questioned the role of Baghel, saying he did not make efforts to end factionalism before the bypoll.