Warring not being replaced as PPCC chief, Baghel clears air
Ahead of a meeting with party leaders, newly appointed Punjab Congress in-charge and former Chhattisgarh CM Bhupesh Baghel today put to rest speculation surrounding the change of the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) president.
In a brief media interaction during his maiden visit to the holy city after being appointed the in-charge of Congress affairs in the state, Baghel gestured towards PPCC chief Amrinder Singh Raja Warring, standing next to him, and said there was no need to replace him. He added that the power to change the state party head vested with the Congress high command.
After Kapurthala MLA Rana Gurjeet Singh accused Warring of being “selfish”, the PPCC chief had, in his public address at Fatehgarh Sahib on February 18, warned that indiscipline would not be tolerated. Warring, who took over as the PPCC chief in April 2022, said party leaders should learn a lesson from poll debacles in Haryana and Maharashtra last year that were the result of “factionalism” in Congress units.
The visit by Baghel, who is considered a grassroots leader and an expert in making election strategies, is also seen as a strategic move to counter AAP’s influence in the state. After AAP lost one of its citadels – Delhi – to the BJP in the Assembly elections recently, the Congress is focussing on reviving the party’s fortunes in Punjab.
To win the 2027 Assembly elections, Baghel will have to iron out differences among state leaders. AAP being his target became clear from his brief speech in which he targeted the party supremo Arvind Kejriwal. He alleged that the former Delhi Chief Minister was greedy for power as he was eyeing a seat in the Rajya Sabha after losing the polls in the national capital.
Baghel preferred not to answer the media query on former Amritsar MP and ex-PPCC president Navjot Singh Sidhu’s absence during his visit today.
Earlier, PPCC and Punjab Youth Congress leaders and workers accorded a warm welcome to Baghel on his arrival here. Leader of the Opposition in Punjab Vidhan Sabha Partap Singh Bajwa, former Deputy Chief Minister OP Soni and Amritsar MP Gurjeet Singh Aujla were also present on the occasion.
