Smooth take off: Pilot handles Punjab turbulence with ‘no CM face’ formula; but can he carry Congress beyond winning line? | India News

NEW DELHI: The Congress in Punjab has finally hit the ground running. Sachin Pilot, who replaced Bhupesh Baghel as the party’s state in-charge, successfully navigated the state unit out of months of internal turmoil and ensured the party’s campaign for the 2027 assembly elections could finally take off.With arch-rivals – former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi and state Congress chief Raja Warring – on board, Pilot led a mega protest demanding the resignation of Punjab finance minister Harpal Cheema, who faces charges of abetment of suicide of a Dalit, Gulzar Singh.The entire state leadership and thousands of party workers marched towards Cheema’s residence. Police used water cannons to stop the protesters’ march. But the point was made. The Congress was finally in action mode.Pilot ensured that Channi and Warring, whose open power tussle has derailed Congress’s Punjab campaign, not only shared the stage but also did a “tense” handshake.Putting up a huge show of unity during the protest, Channi said, “We will fight together.” Warring reciprocated. The state Congress chief called Channi and other leaders his ‘pagg da lar’ (the fold of his turban).Expressing gratitude to party workers for mobilising in such huge numbers at short notice, Pilot assured each one of them that the Congress will always stand by them. The Congress in-charge assured party workers that he was the representative of the high command and would not leave any stone unturned to restore the dignity and honour of every Congress worker.

But will Pilot’s truce hold?

That’s the big question. The Punjab Congress has seen a no-holds-barred battle between Channi and Warring ever since the high command announced on July 1 that Warring would continue as Punjab Congress chief, ignoring Channi’s claims.The announcement triggered immediate protests from Channi’s supporters. They demanded that Channi should be projected as the party’s CM face in the assembly elections. What followed left the Congress leadership red-faced. From war or words to slogan-shouting at party meetings, the wide split in the state unit was out in the open. The Congress sent Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel to firefight, but he was also singed in the crossfire. Channi camp leaders accused him of siding with Warring.Pilot, who was then air-dashed to Punjab to set the house in order, has passed his maiden test. But assembly elections in the state are still at least 5 months away. Holding the rival factions together till then will indeed be a daunting challenge for the former Rajasthan deputy chief minister.

Well begun is half done

So, how did Pilot cross the first hurdle smoothly? What did he do differently, which Bhupesh Baghel couldn’t?Former Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel was sent to Punjab in February this year. The Congress in Punjab then was a deeply divided house. Baghel worked hard on the ground to bridge differences between the state leaders. But on July 1, when the Congress high command announced to continue with Raja Warring as the state Congress president and made Channi the head of the campaign committee, the rebellion in the state unit came out in the open.Channi’s supporters openly opposed the decision. When Baghel reinforced the leadership structure and ruled out any change, the rebels openly protested and even raised slogans against him.Baghel tried to pacify the rebels by announcing that Punjab elections would be fought under the leadership of Rahul Gandhi and no state leader would be projected as CM face. But the rebels had lost his trust and refused to budge.With the rebels refusing to relent and their open infighting embarrassing the party leadership, the Congress high command decided to do a course correction to set its house in order.Baghel was shifted out, Pilot was brought in with a clear message: Congress would contest the 2027 assembly elections under collective leadership, and Rahul Gandhi would be the face of the campaign. This was a half-way compromise. The party leadership relented on Baghel but refused to budge on replacing Warring – at least for now.Warring was handpicked by the Congress high command to lead the Punjab unit after the party’s rout in the 2017 assembly elections – which saw the grand-old-party reduced to 17 assembly seats – its worst-ever performance in the state.

“No CM face” compromise

So, Pilot has crossed the first hurdle. But at what cost? Congress’s decision to fight the Punjab assembly elections under collective leadership, with Rahul Gandhi as the face of the campaign, may have at best delayed the inevitable power tussle.But it creates another challenge for the party. Much of the Congress’s success in the state till now has been driven by a strong local leadership – Captain Amarinder Singh, who is now with the BJP.The AAP has already announced to contest the upcoming assembly elections under the leadership of Bhagwant Singh Mann. Arvind Kejriwal, who is the face of AAP has largely worked from behind the scenes – planning and strategising for the Punjab challenge. For the Akalis, Sukhbir Singh Badal is the undisputed leader and the party’s campaign revolves around him.That leaves us with the BJP and the Congress.

PM Modi vs Rahul

The Congress decision to contest Punjab assembly elections with Rahul Gandhi as the party’s face makes the upcoming electoral contest interesting, and perhaps also challenging for the party.The BJP has already launched an aggressive campaign for Punjab with Prime Minister Narendra Modi leading the party’s campaign. PM Modi has already held two rallies in the poll-bound state and has announced a slew of development projects. As the campaign progresses, we will see the Prime Minister go all out against BJP’s political opponents. The BJP, which is in the process of building the party in the state, also has no visible local leadership. It has acquired quite a few prominent leaders from AAP and Congress, but it is unlikely any of them would be projected as the CM face. BJP’s campaigns in states are mostly centralised, with all top leaders campaigning for the party and PM Modi leading the charge. Punjab should be no exception.And that is what should worry the Congress. The fight to conquer Punjab could well become another PM Modi vs Rahul contest. In several such direct contests in the past, the Congress has struggled. However, Punjab could be different. The BJP, for a greater part of its existence in the state, has played second fiddle to the Akalis.