On August 25, 2025, the Congress high command convened a crucial meeting in Delhi with Punjab leaders, urging them to sink their differences and work as a united force for the 2027 Assembly elections. AICC general secretary KC Venugopal, echoing the message of party chief Mallikarjun Kharge and Rahul Gandhi, warned that “indiscipline and breach of the party line would not be tolerated.” Yet, beneath these appeals for discipline lies a deeper malaise—overconfidence and ambition.
At least seven senior leaders are openly or discreetly vying for the top post. Instead of consolidating the party’s credibility, these leaders are preoccupied with undercutting one another—forgetting the hard demographic realities of Punjab that forced the high command in 2022 to carefully weigh caste and regional balance before announcing a CM face. The Ludhiana West bypoll debacle, a string of resignations by office bearers, and public outbursts—such as the unfortunate and condemnable public utterances of Kulbir Singh Zira against senior leader Rana Gurjeet Singh—are stark symptoms of this power struggle.
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The parallels with Haryana are instructive. Only recently, the Congress there was brimming with confidence, but internal squabbling opened the door for the BJP to upend its calculations. Punjab may well be headed the same way.
The overconfidence within the Congress stems from a flawed assumption: that with Akali Dal in disarray, BJP struggling, and AAP losing sheen, the road to victory is assured. But the ground scenario suggests otherwise. The BJP, after securing 18% of the vote in 2024, is slowly gaining traction even in rural Punjab. AAP, despite setbacks, still retains significant goodwill through its populist schemes. The Akalis are indeed split, but they remain a force in select pockets.
Is former Member of Punjab Public Service Commission
A farmer and keen observer of current affairs
In this backdrop, the Congress should have been focusing on organisational revival, policy clarity, and reconnecting with disillusioned farmers and youth. Instead, greed for the “top job” has overtaken collective purpose. This obsession breeds sabotage—leaders would rather see rivals lose than the party win.
The high command’s instructions against “washing dirty linen in public” may buy temporary peace, but without humility, reconciliation, and a genuine sense of discipline, the infighting will only deepen. Unity cannot be commanded; it has to be cultivated.
History is clear. In 2012, overconfidence and complacency toppled Congress’s hopes, handing the Akali Dal an unlikely comeback. If Punjab Congress repeats the same mistake, 2027 will be a self-inflicted defeat—not by voters rejecting it, but by leaders sabotaging themselves.
Whether the high command’s intervention can diffuse tensions will only become clear with time. But one thing is certain: ambitions are sky-high, and the battle is more for personal crowns than for the party’s cause. Having served as a Congress spokesperson, Chairman of the Social Media Cell, and office in-charge before moving on to a constitutional post, I can say with some element of experience—when ambition overtakes discipline, defeat is not far behind.