Congress general secretary (organisation) KC Venugopal on Thursday clarified that the party will fight the upcoming 2027 Punjab Assembly elections under the leadership of Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi and rejected any speculation of leadership change in the state.
After a three-hour meeting with party leaders from Punjab, Venugopal said there was “no question of leadership change” in Punjab, adding that all leaders “unanimously agreed” with the party’s future direction.
Addressing a media person after the meeting, Venugopal said, “We have given very clear guidelines today. Everyone unanimously agreed to the leadership decision. As of now, there is no question of change of leadership.” Venugopal further said, “Rahul Gandhi listened to all the leaders of Punjab for three hours and said that Congress will form the government with unity in Punjab.”
Asked about the issue of Dalit representation in top positions raised by former Punjab Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi, Venugopal stressed the Congress party’s long-term commitment to ensure equal participation for communities, especially Dalits, backward classes (OBCs) and economically weaker sections.
“We are committed to ensuring representation of communities, especially poor people belonging to Scheduled Castes, Scheduled Tribes, Other Backward Classes and General Castes. This is the idea and policy that the party has adopted across India. This also applies to Punjab,” he said.
However, he criticized Channi’s public statements and social media posts, saying that such actions do not contribute positively to the party’s goals. He further said, “Going to the media and spreading such activities on social media will not be helpful to the Congress organisation. It is our duty, the duty of the high command that everyone gets representation. We will take care of it.”
Venugopal described discipline within the party as paramount. He said, “From tomorrow, all the Congress leaders and the Congress family will remain united. We will easily win in Punjab. Congress will fight the elections unitedly and will win in Punjab with the support of the people of Punjab.”
The Congress party has also announced a new protocol for communication among its members, stating that no leader will speak to the media on internal issues of the party. All matters should be resolved within the party platform and addressed to the leadership.
Regarding the controversy over 32 Punjab Congress leaders writing letters to Rahul Gandhi, Venugopal reiterated that though leaders are free to meet the party leadership, any kind of factionalism or factionalism will not be tolerated. He said, “We do not want any kind of factionalism.” Punjab Congress in-charge Bhupesh Baghel also expressed his opinion on this issue and stressed that being a border area, the Congress government in Punjab is very important for national security. He said, “There will be a struggle in Punjab regarding MNREGA also.”
Baghel stressed that the party leadership has issued strict instructions and made it clear that indiscipline will not be tolerated. He further said, “Indiscipline will not be tolerated at all and the party leadership has given strict instructions.” (
