To counter AAP, Cong needs to restrategise

It will be a daunting task for the Congress to “reinvent” itself in line with the changed political strategy of its opponents, mainly the Aam Aadmi Party (AAP), which has emerged as a viable option for the voters in face of a weakened Akali Dal.

From winning seven Lok Sabha constituencies to just one Assembly segment in the four byelections in 2024, the Congress faces fresh challenge from AAP, which has the ability to tweak its strategy according to the changing situation.

Marred with internal differences, state Congress leaders need to work in a unified manner, rather than pushing their individual political interests at the cost of the party.

With the BJP trying to make inroads into Punjab’s political spectrum through division on the caste lines, the Congress needs to re-strategise its style of functioning to counter new rivals. “Rather than banking on the SAD to divide votes, our leaders need to understand the changing ground reality and make the Pradesh Congress Committee a cohesive unit in run up to the 2027 Assembly poll. By pushing individual interests, our leaders did a self-goal in the 2022 Vidhan Sabha elections,” said a senior Congress leader.

From a heady start to the agitation against AAP’s alleged political vendetta unleashed by the Vigilance Bureau against the Congress leaders to a fizzled out attack on the ruling party, especially after an FIR against Bharat Bhushan Ashu being cancelled by the high court and AAP failing to prove charges against former CM Charanjit Channi and ex-MLA Kushaldeep Dhillon speaks of the lack of unity among the top leadership.

Senior leaders said the party needs to be pro-active on the ground to make people see the ground reality versus the claims made by AAP. Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, chief, PCC, has announced to take on the ruling party over the misuse of official machinery in the panchayat and civic body polls in 2025.