Chandigarh
Congress’s newly-appointed Punjab affairs’ in-charge Sachin Pilot will meet senior party leader Rahul Gandhi in Delhi on Friday and is expected to submit his assessment of the Punjab unit, days after his maiden state visit brought leaders from rival factions together on a common platform. Pilot is now preparing a 2027 election strategy centred on a review of all 117 Assembly constituencies, strengthening booth-level organisation, and building a second line of young leadership.
Pilot’s first Punjab visit on September 15 produced a visible show of unity in a faction-ridden state unit. Punjab Congress president Amarinder Singh Raja Warring, former Chief Minister Charanjit Singh Channi and senior leaders, including Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa and Pratap Singh Bajwa, joined the protest march led by Pilot against Finance Minister Harpal Singh Cheema over the death of a Dalit man Gulzar Singh.
The joint appearance came after months of differences among senior leaders, particularly over the functioning of the state organisation and Warring’s continuation as Pradesh Congress Committee chief.
Before entering Punjab, Pilot had already begun consultations with senior leaders in Delhi, taking their views on organisational issues and preparations for the 2027 Assembly elections. During his state visit, he further sought feedback from leaders and workers. He is now expected to place these views before the central leadership through his report.
Pilot also held closed-door meetings with Channi and Warring and, according to party sources, made it clear that the high command is closely monitoring developments in Punjab. The two leaders were warned against encouraging factionalism and told that the high command could take strict action if internal differences harmed the organisation.
Taking complete charge, Pilot’s next major task is a constituency-wise review of the Congress organisation across all 117 assembly seats. The exercise will look beyond sitting or former legislators and senior leaders, with feedback also being gathered from local panchayat representatives, block presidents, and youth-wing workers.
The review will assess the party’s organisational strength, the activity of local leaders, and workers, and areas where leadership changes or fresh faces may be required.
A major component of the strategy is the creation of a team of active young leaders. Pilot is preparing a list of emerging faces and plans to call them individually to Delhi for discussions and election-oriented training. The idea is to identify leaders with grassroots connections who can eventually take greater responsibility in the 2027 campaign.
The exercise is aimed at developing a stronger second line of leadership and reducing the organisation’s dependence on established senior faces. Pilot is expected to hold a series of meetings in Delhi and Chandigarh as the constituency-level review progresses.
Pilot has also conveyed that the 2027 election will be fought under collective leadership rather than around a single leader. The party is not expected to announce a chief ministerial face before the election, while organisational decisions will remain firmly with the high command until the polls.
At the grassroots level, Congress is preparing an assessment of worker activity down to the booth. Trained young leaders are expected to help build booth-management teams capable of taking the party’s campaign and messaging directly to voters.
The exercise is also being linked to the proposed Punjab visits of Rahul Gandhi, Priyanka Gandhi, and Congress president Mallikarjun Kharge. Pilot’s report is expected to help shape those programmes as well as possible organisational changes in Punjab.
AAP Hits Back, Questions Centre’s Record on Drug Trafficking
PNS / Chandigarh
The BJP’s proposed ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’ has triggered a counterattack from the Aam Aadmi Party, with AAP media in-charge and Nasha Mukti Morcha chief spokesperson Baltej Pannu questioning what he called the BJP’s record on tackling drugs at both the state and Centre levels.
Pannu said the BJP was a partner in the Punjab Government from 2007 to 2017 and asked what concrete action it had taken during that decade, particularly against the spread of ‘chitta’. He also questioned the status of an Enforcement Directorate probe into the drug network led by officer Niranjan Singh, asking why the investigation was allegedly stalled and why the officer was transferred when names were emerging in the probe. He pointed out that the BJP was also in power at the Centre between 2014 and 2017.
AAP leader questioned the Centre’s focus on Punjab after 73 districts across India were identified as “ultra-sensitive” under its drug-free India roadmap, including six in Punjab — Amritsar, Gurdaspur, Tarn Taran, Fazilka, Ferozepur and Ludhiana.
He said the Centre and BSF must explain measures against cross-border trafficking, while the Mann Government was working with the BSF and deploying anti-drone systems. Pannu also cited the state’s ‘Yudh Nashian Virudh’ campaign, 3,100 sports grounds and participation of over 25,000 youngsters in a recent Bathinda run as part of its broader response to the drug menace.
BJP Leader Grewal Questions Party’s Anti-Drug Yatra
Senior BJP national leader Sukhminderpal Singh Grewal has questioned the party’s proposed ‘Nasha Mukt Punjab Yatra’, saying Punjab’s drug crisis should not be turned into a political spectacle while urging the Centre to focus instead on investigation, enforcement and accountability. Addressing Union Home Minister Amit Shah and BJP national president Nitin Nabin, Grewal questioned how narcotics continued to enter Punjab despite central security jurisdiction extending up to 50 km along the international border.
Raising questions over alleged daytime drone-based drug smuggling, Grewal sought action in cases linked to the alleged Rs 6,000-crore drug case and the Justice Ajit Singh Bains report. Grewal questioned the BJP’s decision to give responsibilities and Y-plus security to Parminder Singh Brar and Boni Ajnala, whose names, he alleged, figure in the report.
Recalling his own 2015 anti-drug yatra, he asked why the BJP was holding a similar campaign now instead of first delivering concrete answers and action.
