How will Ludhiana West bypoll impact Congress' internal dynamics in Punjab?

New Delhi: The outcome of the Ludhiana West by-elections on June 23 is expected to set the tone for the much-needed overhaul of the Congress in Punjab.

The state unit chief, Amarinder Singh Raja (Warring), is likely to be changed to enable the new president to be battle-ready for the assembly elections scheduled to be held in February-March 2027.

Some of the contenders to head the Punjab Pradesh Congress Committee (PPCC) are Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Rana Gurjeet Singh among the Jat Sikhs while Vijay Inder Singla, Rana KP Singh and Bharat Bhushan Ashu are the frontrunners if the party decides to go for a Hindu face. Former chief minister Charanjit Singh Channi could be a dark horse.

In Punjab Congress circles, incumbent Raja Warring is perceived to be soft on the ruling Aam Aadmi Party (AAP) and chief minister Bhagwant Singh Mann.

Though Warring took credit for the party’s performance in the 2024 Lok Sabha elections in which the Congress bagged seven out of the 13 seats, the knives were out for him after his wife Amrita lost from Gidderbaha a few months later in the November 2024 by-elections. Since then, Warring's detractors have been demanding his ouster from the post. 

The party is apparently keen on appointing a Hindu leader to head the state unit. In the past too, the combination of the Hindu PCC president and the Sikh chief ministerial candidate had worked for the Congress. Take, for example, the duo of Captain Amarinder Singh (chief minister) and Sunil Jakhar (PCC president). 

The proposed changes have brought together leaders who were earlier at each other's throats.

Warring, Randhawa and Captain Sandeep Sandhu are now on the same side. Similarly, Channi, Rana Gurjeet and Ashu have joined hands to counter the rival faction.

In case Bharat Bhushan wins the June 19 by-poll from Ludhiana West, a Hindu-dominated seat, he will be a strong claimant to the PPCC president's post.

A former cabinet minister in Punjab, Ashu is considered to be more aggressive in taking on the rival political parties. 

For the other faction, former minister Vijay Inder Singla appears to be a safe bet. 

The tussle has visibly escalated ahead of the by-elections, with both sides indulging in a game of one-upmanship by inducting each other's baiters into the party fold.

It was Warring first who had inducted the Bains brothers -- Simarjeet Singh and Balwinder Singh -- into the Congress ahead of the 2024 Lok Sabha polls.

In the recent past, Channi, Rana Gurjeet and Ashu inducted Karan Warring, Kamaljit Singh Karwal and Satnam Singh Sunny Master into the Congress without the consent of the PCC chief.

Warring was quick to hit back by revoking the suspension of Phillaur legislator Vikramjit Singh Chaudhary, a known bete noire of Channi. Chaudhary was suspended from the party for campaigning against Channi from the Jalandhar Lok Sabha seat during the 2024 parliamentary elections.